On the Hunt for the Elusive Muscatel
With the 2011 second flush Darjeeling black teas from the Himalayas still a few months off, we recently found ourselves running low on our stock from 2010, and in no way would we ever want to let the proverbial tank run dry on this one. Since opening back in 2008, these have always been a favorite tea around the shop to drink when one can't quite decide what to drink. Like oolongs, second flush Darjeeling teas represent a space on a continuum that stretches from completely un-oxidized green tea to fully oxidized black tea. Where any given one will fit in and what the balance between light/floral and strong/toasty flavors will be like is part of the mystery and the fun.
In the past we've enjoyed drinking a Pussimbing that had a decidedly greenish yellow color in the cup and a strong grassy, floral flavor as much as a Sungma that brewed up a dark copper color and tasted of pineapple and sandalwood. But the true holy grail of second flush Darjeeling has always been the elusive muscatel flavor. Named after the Muscat family of grapes, this characteristic was considered to share some of the same fruity and musky qualities as the wines made from those grapes. When it shows up in Darjeeling (which is never as often as one would like) it can, at its best, present as a lovely, impossible combination of grapey fruitiness and yeasty, buttery fresh-baked brioche aroma that perfectly complements the tea's otherwise grassy character. No one quite knows what causes the phenomenon, but some in the industry have suggested that it could be related to an infestation of green fly on the tea plant. If this proves to be true, then let's hope the growers find a way to infect all of their bushes for the sake of every tea lover out there who wishes they sip on something this great every day.
In the meantime, we've struggled to source teas that have more than a wisp of this character. Our best successes so far have been a Lingia produced for the Japanese market that had the right aroma, but was given a hard wither (a primary drying step that inactivates some of the enzymes that would cause the tea to oxidize and turn black) to suit their preference for lighter black teas. Inhibiting these enzymes also helps the formation of volatile flavor compounds in the aroma, but at the cost of some of the richness, body and toasty-nuttiness that we expect in the flavor of a classic, dark "English-style" 2nd flush Darjeeling. And it's those teas that earned the reputation as the "champagne of teas" sometime shortly after WWI, and that have been increasingly hard to find in the last couple decades.
However, after tasting the strongest example of such a tea at the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas last year we were determined to track down a lot of tea from the estate that produced it. Jungpana Estate was first planted in the South Kurseong valley of Darjeeling in 1899 by an Englishman and later purchased by an Indian family in the 1950s. In the last half century they have mastered the art of taking full advantage of the unique micro-climate found on the south side of a nearby mountain range and have consistently created what they consider to be a "majestic...mystical...vintage Darjeeling" (www.jungpana.in). They share the valley with Castleton Estate who produce arguably the most famous muscatel Darjeeling, but just try finding that one! Jungpana, on the other hand, was available for sale and we just brought in our first kilogram to try. Let me just say it did not disappoint, and from this point on we will be proud to be in the company of Harrods in London and Fauchon in Paris in stocking and sharing such a regal tea!
By now I have gone on for too long, so the best thing would be for you to stop in a try a pot for yourself on a nice spring day...
Tags: Black Tea Darjeeling India
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