DARJEELING STEINTHAL
1st FLUSH ORGANIC EX 1
2024

India, harvest at the end of April 2024

For 2024, Terza Luna wanted to boast a truly special Darjeeling tea, coming from one of the oldest gardens in all of India, the Steinthal, founded in 1852 by the German priest Joachim Stoelke.

The peculiarity of this tea is undoubtedly the harvest period, it is one of the very first flushes, characterized by the label EX1.
What does EX1 mean?
In the Indian region of Darjeeling, the harvest period of the leaves is very important because it determines the price and quality, as it happens in other countries that are not as organized as the Indians.
Here, in fact, each harvest batch is identified by a different label.
The very first harvest bears the label EX1, then there is EX2, usually corresponding to a period between mid and late April.
After that, the labels start with DJ (which stands for Darjeeling) starting from DJ1 up to DJ 8 or 9.
It is clear that in this case DJ1 will be the batch harvested first and therefore usually with the best quality.
As we progress, the leaves will have received more sun and water, and their infusion will be affected in taste, shifting towards less floral notes.

All that's left is to try this fantastic Darjeeling EX1, the other Darjeeling teas of this year are batches DJ1, you can find them here.

How to prepare a good Darjeeling tea?

Preparing a tea is not standardized, which is why you will always find similar but often slightly different information.
It must certainly be based on some general information (water temperature, infusion time, and quantity of leaves), but there are many other variables that influence it (type of water, environment, utensils used, presence of the person preparing it).

That said, for delicate teas like Darjeeling where it is crucial to be able to perceive the most delicate notes, the advice is to use:

1. water not too hot (80°C will be fine)
2. maximum 2 minutes of infusion
3. 3g of leaves per cup

These parameters can always be adjusted to obtain stronger or weaker infusions!