Darjeeling tealeaves being picked by hand

Darjeeling tea is an anomaly, a Chinese tea plant grown for hundreds of years in the ancient soils found at the base of the Himalayan Mountains in northern India. Darjeeling is affectionately referred to as the Champagne of the tea world due in part to its name being exclusively linked to the growing region (if it doesn’t grow in Darjeeling it can’t be called Darjeeling tea) and in part to the sweet but musky aroma reminiscent of a dessert wine.

The name Darjeeling means “Land of the Thunderbolt” and it is the weather in combination with the regions attitude, mountain soils and bright sunlight that give the tea it’s much deserved reputation amongst tea connoisseurs.

Red Leaf Tea is delighted to present our newest tea selection; a highly coveted second harvest Darjeeling from one of the regions oldest and most prized tea gardens. Second flush Darjeeling is iconic for its dark and complex richness when compared with the early harvest, which produces a greener and lighter drink.

The tea estate, just outside of the remote town of Kurseong in West Bengal, produces some of the finest tea leaves and of those leaves only around ten percent are given the grade FTGFOP1 (Fine Tippy golden Flowery Orange Pekoe Grade 1) the highest grade for tea and it is for this reason that we have given this tea the name Darjeeling Gold and we think you'll agree this is certainly a gold cup of tea.