Darjeeling Castleton Estate (F.T.G.F.O.P.)

Just received 3 Estate black tea samples from our tea broker yesterday. One of them is the Darjeeling Castleton Estate graded F.T.G.F.O.P.

About Castleton Estate

Castleton Estate is located near Kurseong in the Darjeeling district of northern India. Castleton Estate is considered one of the top estates in Darjeeling.

How is the tea graded?

This particular tea that I got is graded F.T.G.F.O.P.,and is in the upper 10 percentile of Castleton’s quality.

*What is F.T.G.F.O.P.?? Far Too Good For Ordinary People? No, in the orthodox black tea grading system, it means Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe(2nd highest grade). 200 years ago it could have been "Far Too Good For Ordinary People" because tea was compared to gold in value in the old days.

As you can tell from the picture, the leaves are whole leaf type with lots of tips(youngest tea buds), and only the tea buds picked from the very top of the tea twig/sprig can be considered a Flowery Orange Pekoe. So as for the quality of the leaves, F.T.G.F.O.P is a very good grade. The grading is for orthodox black tea only. It is used to tell you the quality of the leaves but it doesn't tell you how to tea taste like.

How Good Is It?

So, ok this tea is F.T.G.F.O.P., it looks like a quality tea, but what does it taste like? Taste very good, not so surprising huh. The infusion is bright tending light. It has got the wonderful trademarked mascatel notes from a premium 2nd flush Darjeeling tea. Winey but not too astringent. Middle bodied and full of floral/grape like hints.

How does it compared to the Margaret's Hope Estate that we carry in our shop?

Castleton has a mellower taste and more refined. Margaret's Hope tastes more astringent(expecially when over steeped). Yes, Castleton is a better 2nd flush. But is it worth more than 3 times as much as the Margaret's Hope? Don't think so. If we are ever gonna carry Castleton, it is going to be priced at about $25 dollars per 1/4 lb. For less than 1/3 of the price($7.99 per 1/4 lb.for Margaret's Hope), I can enjoy a very good 2nd Flush Darjeeling however I want(hot, iced, sweet, with milk, latte...) with out feeling so guilty.

So for now, I am going to stick with the Margaret's Hope as our current Darjeeling 2nd Flush selection.

The Tea: Castleton 2nd Flush

Grade: F.T.G.F.O.P.(Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe)

Steeping Time: 3-5 minutes.

Amount of Tea: 1 tea spoon for 6 oz. cup

Minty Mintea

Hot Hot Hot, I think I need more iced tea!! The air conditioning at the shop is not working and blasting out hot air, damn, got to have it fixed. This is my 3rd iced tea of the day. I had Iced Thai tea and iced Earl Grey earlier, and I need something more refreshing. How about a Moroccan Mint? Sounds good, but I don't feel like drinking a smoky Gunpowder(Moroccan Mint is a mix of Gunpowder green tea and Mint) right now. Ok, how about Iced Minty Sencha? Yeah how about that!

Sencha actually goes very well with mint, it is sweeter and not as smoky as the Moroccan Mint. And it tastes very good with honey. You can use either Spearmint or Peppermint or use both. But I will just use some washington mint(Peppermint grown in the State of Washington). We actually carry this Sencha and Peppermint blend at our shop.

Mixing is simple, if you like mintier tea then use more mint, or put more tea if you like the taste of tea more. But I like a mint tea that is both minty and "teaty" at the same time. So I use 1 table spoon of Sencha and 1 table spoons of mint. Use 8oz. hot water (180 degrees) and steep for 3-4 mins. Fill the 16oz. cup with ice and pour the freshly brewed tea into the cup. Yummm!!!

Tea: Minty Green

Ingredints: Sencha green tea (or you favorite green tea), Mint(Peppermint or Spearmint)

Steeping Time: 3-5 mins.(With the flavor of mint this tea can be brewed for up to 5 mins. but don't go over or it will taste bitter)

Amount of Tea: For an 8 0z. cup tea, use 1-2 tea spoon of the mix.

Water Temperature: Use hot water at about 180 degrees. (boil the freshly drawn water until steamy)

Thai Iced Tea

Our Thai iced tea blend is a mix of ground up black tea, star anise, vanilla, cinnamon and other spices. Brewing takes about 5 mins.

1. You can buy the Thai tea mix from some local asian markets. Or you can make your own Thai tea mix. Ingredients are: 1-2 parts Ceylon/Assam black tea, 1 part star anise, 1 part vanilla, and also cinnamon according to taste. (these spices should be ground up)


2. I am making a 16oz. cup this time. Use 3-6 tea spoons of Thai tea mix. Use 6oz. freshly boiled water and steep the tea for 5-7 mins.


3. When the tea is brewed, strain the leaves or take the filter out(I use unbleached paper tea sacks). Put condensed milk, coconut milk, and sugar according to taste(you can also put heavy cream, half&half, non-dairy creamer, soy milk instead). Stir the tea.


4. Add Ice and you now have a cup of Thai iced tea in 5 mins.

Iced Assam (Behora Estate)

The Behora Estate is my favorite Assam tea. It is what you will expect from a top classic Assam--strong, full bodied and malty. It also has the hints of the sweet dates. Best of all, it is inexpensive too($6.99 for 1/4 lb.) You can't get a better Assam tea for this price!

Some like it with milk but I usually drink this tea straigt-up.

• This time I am making a 16 oz. cup. So I use 1 table spoon(3 tea spoon)


• I usually use paper tea filter to brew tea. These filters are made of abaca pulp, cellulose and sealing fibre. They are unbleached and biodegradeble. And I like to use the large size bag for both cups and pots. Advantage of using larger bags is they give the leaves more room to expend when being brewed and the result is richer taste.


• Steep it for 5 mins. in an 8oz. cup and fill the 16oz. cup with ice. Then pour the freshly brewed Assam tea into the cup.


• I did not sweeten the tea this time, but when I do sweeten the tea I use either raw/brown sugar or honey. Some times I will add a slice of lemon also.

Enjoy!!

How to make proper iced tea

Summer time!! Iced tea time!
How to make gourmet iced tea? Very easy, here is how.

1. Brew a tea by following the regular brewing instructions, but using Twice the amount of leaves. If you like the tea to be sweetened, I recommend raw sugar or honey. You can also put milk, soy milk, or half&half to make iced milk tea.
2. Fill glasses or pitcher approximately 3/4 with ice. (Use plastic or tempered glass only)
3. Immediately pour the hot tea over the ice, using a strainer to separate the tea leaves. If necessary, add more ice or cold water until the iced tea is diluted to nearly double its initial volume.
4. According to personal taste, add slices of lemon, lime, orange, or a few sprigs of fresh mint leaf to garnish the tea.

* The sudden cooling preserves the full aroma as well as the active ingredients of the tea. This method also prevents the usual cloudiness that often develops in black teas as they cool off.