7 Responses to Single Origin Tea’s Jun Chiyabari Nepal [Episode 151]

1. Oop# says:

   March 29, 2016 at 10:22 pm

   Wow, the whole time I was watching this I was thinking, ‘Ah, James drinks and Denny doesn’t.’ with the whole confusion over the usage of the word ‘dry’ then the clubbing comment. I laughed so… well, I didn’t laugh, but I did a really hard internal chuckle. Thanks as always for the reviews!

   Reply
   • James says:

     March 30, 2016 at 4:30 pm

     Thanks Oop#. Glad you enjoyed.

     Cheers!
     -James

     Reply
2. Doug says:

   March 30, 2016 at 4:27 pm

   I’ve been drinking Darjeeling and Nepal teas for a long time and I think you might be sacrificing the full flavor of the tea by rinsing it and brewing it for such a short time. I would have brewed this for 2.5 to 3 minutes with a cup infuser and would not have re-steeped.
   Then again, maybe I should experiment with other brewing approaches!

   Reply
   • James says:

     March 30, 2016 at 4:30 pm

     Hi Doug,

     Thanks for the comment and the notes. I’m sure those parameters would be an improvement.. I fear that our ability to brew these Indian teas has regressed from an already “not good” state. Hopefully we’ll be a bit better in the future.

     Cheers,
     -James

     Reply
3. Hans says:

   March 30, 2016 at 8:46 pm

   Darjeeling tea is big among German tea drinkers for at least three decades. Second flush is the more robust flush but not as robust as Assam. First flush is usually more fragrant and light, but there is always a wide range in flavors. The teas from Nepal are similar to Darjeeling tea, but most times you’ll get better quality for your money. Hence, vendors offer them as an alternative to the Darjeelings now.
   One more tea that can be similar to Darjeelings is Nilgiri first flush from south of the Indian subcontinent, but most teas from there are like Ceylon teas.

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   • James says:

     March 31, 2016 at 12:01 am

     Thanks for the education Hans! Quite interesting and will certainly keep it in mind the next time I quaff some tea from that area of the world.

     Reply
4. Stefan says:

   April 6, 2016 at 8:06 pm

   Chiyabari is getting popular. Seen them more often recently. Guess tea drinkers are looking for alternatives to avoid the outrageous Darjeeling prices.
   (True: Especially Germans are crazy for Darjeelings and so am I.)

   I also don’t recommend rinsing. The teas are usually from this year’s harvest and they aren’t rolled tightly either. No reason to break them up like a Puerh.
   Gongfu is for Oolongs and Puerhs. They are often tightly rolled, pressed, stored and made of the nice big leaves instead of the Indian region picking standard “two leaves and a bud”.

   Darjeelings and similar teas are steeped once and 1st flushes take something around 3 minutes, often less. 2nd flushes 4min. Chiyabaris can take some more. The have less of that “tangy highland something” of Darjeelings. It’s all in the first steeping round. They don’t have enough beef for some more rounds (yes, pricey).

   I brew teas I don’t know in tea tasting style (except Japanese teas):
   Little less than 3g, 150ml, boiling water, 5min.

   Immediately separates good from bad qualities and everything is in that one cup.
   After that I adjust dosage, steeping time and water temperature according to my liking and what was revealed by the tasting setup.

   Part of the fun with tea is the huge variety of teas and preparation methods.
   Everyone makes his one cup of tea.

   Reply

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