Darjeeling Rare Spring Treasure Tea

Darjeeling first flush teas are made in the first growing season of the month, which is spring. They have a special processing method where they undergo prolonged withering and then oxidation, so they are lightly oxidized teas. They have a lovely freshness with vegetal, floral, and fruity notes reminiscent of a spring meadow.

About low-moderate as this is a lightly oxidized black tea. However, depending on the plucking, if there are more young tea buds and leaves, the caffeine content can increase as caffeine is in the trichomes of the tea leaves, which are most present in the tea buds and younger leaves, and decreases as the leaf gets older.

In Darjeeling, there is very little if no tea production in the winter months, and so after a long period, there is suddenly this beautiful, wonderful artisanal Darjeeling tea which is produced, and just like champagne, it has nuanced, complex notes, and is very prized. The flurry of activity in the first couple weeks when the first flush is being made is so exciting for the tea farmers and buyers. Everyone awaits this “tea treasure” of excellence.

Darjeeling first flush teas are usually a pale yellow with wonderful, complex notes and a delicious fresh bite or astringency,

First Flush teas can be enjoyed without milk, if you choose to add milk, we recommend adding just a dash of milk or cream while the tea is being made.

Our single origin first flush Darjeeling Rare Spring Treasure is sourced from a small boutique, high-altitude tea garden in Mirik Valley in Darjeeling.

Yes, we work directly with tea growers across India and personally select their best batches.

We focus on creating strong partnerships with farmers across India and personally selecting their best batches. Our teas are single origin, small batch, and directly sourced with a focus on flavor, season, and terroir. Our loose-leaf teas are all high quality with nuanced aromas and flavors, excellent for gongfu steeping or Western style steeping.

Unlike commodity teas or other Indian tea companies, which often sell broken teas, we offer whole leaf teas. When steeped, whole leaf teas provide a wonderful taste and flavor without the astringency and bitterness that comes with steeping broken teas.

We are tea sommeliers with strong connections to farmers across India. We select single origin, single batch, directly sourced teas with a focus on flavor, terroir, and season. By eliminating the middleman, we ensure that our teas are fresh, often weeks to months old, compared to commodity teas which can be years old.

Our focus on whole leaf teas ensures wonderful aromas and flavors that you will enjoy. Our customers enjoy our teas and we often hear from tea connoisseurs, “we did not enjoy Indian teas as much until we tried the exceptional teas offered by Herbs & Kettles.”

Our teas are farm fresh and packed at origin. We work with tea farmers who use organic farming methods and ensure that their tea workers are treated fairly, helping to uplift the entire community.

By working directly with tea farmers and maintaining strong partnerships, we eliminate the middleman. Our regional loose leaf teas are packed at origin, ensuring farm-to-cup freshness.

We purchase new lots every year, and our teas are often air mailed to us rather than shipped by ocean, ensuring they are weeks or months old instead of years old which is often a problem with grocery stores or commodity teas. We recommend trying it for yourself to appreciate the freshness and quality of our teas.

Yes, we share our passion for high quality Indian teas by offering seasonal and limited edition teas such as Darjeeling Yanki Red Oolong and Meghalaya Silver Needle. We buy new lots every year ensuring that each tea retains farm to cup freshness and also select new interesting teas for our collection.

Tea lovers may enjoy our premium subscription box - Herbs & Kettles Fine Tea Club, which includes fantastic, seasonal, limited batch teas that are often only weeks old, air mailed directly from our farm partners.

If you're looking for a Darjeeling tea based on the season or flush, we've chosen them with extreme care to ensure that each batch is exceptional and the best of the season.

For those who enjoy malty Assam teas, we have a premium collection, including innovative batches like Assam GABA and Assam Smoked Melody. Our Nilgiri Frosted teas are divine, and we also offer teas from lesser-known regions such as Meghalaya and Sikkim.

Additionally, we carry wild teas from Manipur and Nagaland in the extreme northeastern region of India, close to Yunnan. Can't decide? We offer tea samples to help you find your favorite teas.