The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea - Michael Harney [38]
Second Flush teas are to First Flush teas a little like what Banchas are to Senchas in Japan; like Banchas, Second Flush leaves emerge a few weeks after the First Flush passes. The First Flush lasts for three to four weeks in early spring, ending when the plant has spent all its stored winter energy on new leaves. For several weeks, the plant does not make any leaves as it regenerates energy. Then in late May or early June, the plant starts to grow again. Though bigger and tougher than the tender First Flush leaves, Second Flush leaves are still full of flavor.
Darjeeling tea makers adjust their production methods from First Flush to Second Flush to accommodate the larger, older leaves. As Taiwanese tea makers do with Bai Hao, also called the Fanciest Formosa Oolong (page 91), Darjeeling tea makers harness the plants’ self-defenses by allowing their natural predators, leaf mites, to feast on the leaves right before harvesting them. During the feasting, the leaves repel the predators by releasing defenses in the form of aromatic compounds. When the tea is made, the compounds create the lovely fruity flavors.
As with First Flush teas, the tea makers hard-wither the leaves after harvesting to concentrate their aromas. After rolling the leaves, they oxidize them 30 percent longer. First Flush teas oxidize until the first nose—a certain distinctive, strong aroma that emerges after about two hours. Second Flush teas oxidize for about another forty minutes to an hour. The first nose dies away after ten minutes; after another thirty minutes or so, the second nose emerges, at which point the tea maker fires the leaves in an oven. The firing lasts just under half an hour, to add gentle roasted flavors.
HIMALAYAN TIPS SFTGFOP1 SECOND FLUSH Himalayan Tips Special Fancy Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe No. 1 Second Flush
This tea comes from Nepal. While not technically a Darjeeling, it is made in the Darjeeling style, with a hard wither, thorough rolling, limited oxidation, and light firing. Darjeeling teas are made right on the border separating India from Nepal, so it is only natural that tea cultivation has migrated to the other side of the border. Nepalese teas were once marketed as Darjeelings, but Himalayan Tips is proudly sold as tea from Nepal.
Himalayan Tips comes from a promising new garden started just a few years ago called Jun Chiyabari. A small operation about thirty miles west of the border, Jun Chiyabari supplements its own leaf production with leaves from other local Nepalese tea farmers. In coming years, the garden’s teas should only get better, but for now its finest tea, a Second Flush, lacks the nuance and full range of flavor of Margaret’s Hope. The tea still serves as a useful indicator of the rising quality of Nepalese teas.
OKAYTI DJ 480 AUTUMNAL FTGFOP Okayti Darjeeling Lot No. 480 Autumnal Fancy Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
Okayti possesses the classic qualities of Autumnal Darjeeling: mildly fruity and spicy—and affordable. The third style of Darjeelings, Autumnal teas are harvested after the late-summer monsoon, an event unique to the teas of South Asia. The monsoon hits Darjeeling around the end of June (depending on the valley and the elevation), drawing a close to the Second Flush season. Sometime around October, when the clouds clear and good tea weather recommences, the Autumnal tea harvest begins.
The Dj 480 portion of Okayti’s name indicates that the tea is a Darjeeling from the 480th lot of that plantation to be harvested that year, most likely in November. The garden of Okayti stands on the lower hills of the Darjeeling region abutting Nepal. Although a perfectly good garden, it generally does not produce teas at the level of Margaret’s Hope or Singbulli. Autumnal teas are made much like Second Flush teas; the thicker leaves are left to oxidize through the second nose, or for about three hours, before being fired to take on mild roasted flavors. The result is a muted version