Darjeeling tea – First Flush to Second Flush
Darjeeling is considered the crown jewel of Indian black tea. Teas from the high-altitude slopes at the foothills of the Himalayas are known for their delicate, floral elegance, their lively aroma, and the significant differences between the individual harvest periods.
First Flush, In Between, Second Flush, and Autumnal: Each harvest season brings out its own character – from delicate and fresh to highly aromatic, nutty, and robust.
Life on the tea estate
A tea estate is organized like a small village. The employees and their families live within the tea estates, with an average of about 900 to 2,000 people per estate.
Facilities such as housing, hospitals, kindergartens, and schools are largely available on India's tea estates, and the services provided by these social institutions are free of charge for family members.
First Flush – the first picking period
During the dormant vegetation period from November to March, all tea production rests. When the mountain sun awakens the first shoots in March, the first picking period begins. Depending on the climate, First Flush is produced for 4 to 6 weeks.
Good First Flush teas taste delicate, fresh, and floral and have a fine, lively aroma. At the beginning of the season, the daily production in prime locations is approximately 125 to 150 kg of finished tea.
Delicate, fresh, floral, and lively – with a light cup and a particularly fine aroma.
As the year progresses, production volumes increase significantly. As in the following harvest periods, each estate produces highly varying qualities during the First Flush.
The outstanding, very early pickings achieve top prices and are flown in fresh year after year to be able to offer tea lovers the full freshness of these teas.
Tea plantation in Darjeeling
In Between and Second Flush
Depending on the weather, usually around the beginning of April, the "In Between" is harvested, which initially still shows clear traces of the First Flush, but then heralds the highly aromatic, nutty, and robust Second Flush in May.
This is then harvested from the end of May to the end of June, and its cup color is yellowish-brown to reddish. The top qualities among the Second Flush fetch even higher prices than the best First Flushes.
Highly aromatic, nutty, more robust than First Flush, and with a yellowish-brown-reddish cup color.
Monsoon and Autumnal
After the Second Flush season, the heavy monsoon rain begins. Pickings until September yield high quantities, but correspondingly lower qualities.
After the rain in October, good teas can be produced again. Typical for these Autumnals is a light cup with a lovely aroma.
Anyone wanting to get to know Darjeeling should compare the harvest seasons: First Flush for delicate freshness, Second Flush for nutty depth, and Autumnal for a softer, lovely cup.
Discover other growing regions
Discover other important tea regions and tea cultures as well – from Assam and Ceylon to the Himalayas, China, and Japan.
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