Darjeeling Second Flush (Gopaldhara)
· Muscatel Darjeeling
Black
The famous muscatel is not a choice. It is a wound.
In the May warmth a tiny leafhopper bites the bushes on the Mirik ridge, and the plant floods the punctured leaf with the compounds that ripen into that grape sweetness. Only the second flush carries it, and only if it is picked before the monsoon arrives and washes the season away.
Growers here protect an insect that any other estate in the world would spray. Everything about the tea depends on being damaged at the right moment. It is muscatel and pomegranate, with a mineral citrus closing it off at the end.
- muscatel
- pomegranate
- honey
- Origin
- Darjeeling, West Bengal, India
- Water
- 90°C / 194°F
- Ratio
- 4 g / 100 ml
- Caffeine
- Medium
- Rinse
- Not needed
Darjeeling second-flush muscatel; India GI
How much leaf
Gong fu brewing is leaf-heavy and short. Set your gaiwan or pot size and this is what to weigh out.
Vessel volume
100 ml
Recommended dose
Use ~4.0g of tea
The session
6 infusions, about 4m 20s of total contact time.
- Steep 115sA grape sweetness, waking faint.
- Steep 220sMuscatel swells, ripe and full.
- Steep 330sPomegranate brightens the honey.
- Steep 445sBerry rounds the fruited body.
- Steep 51mA mineral citrus cuts the sweetness.
- Steep 61m 30sClean fruit lingers, cool and long.
Also sold as
Gopaldhara, Muscatel, Darjeeling Second Flush, Darjeeling Muscatel, Rohini
Nearby in the family
- Darjeeling Second Flush · estate example
Steaper times this session for you
A countdown per infusion, a gong when each one is up, and the whole library in your pocket. Coming to iPhone.
Get notified at launchThese numbers are a median of independent gong fu sources, not a law. Leaf age, vessel and water all move them. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.