Autumnal Flush Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea
Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea
Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea
Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea
Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea
Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea
Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea
Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea
  • SKU: SMT02

Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea

Our exceptional hand-plucked, autumnal frosted oolong tea comes from the high-altitude Mirik Valley, Darjeeling. This exquisite whole leaf tea delights with notes of honey, malt, orange, wildflowers, honeysuckle, oak bark, and allspice. Elevate your tea collection with this superb single origin, single batch tea crafted for the discerning connoisseur.

Each 1.06 oz Tin contains approximately 10-12 servings. Depending on steeping method, each serving can yield 2-3 cups, for a total of 20-30 cups per tin.

$4.00
Shipping calculated at checkout.
  Mirik Valley, Darjeeling

Origin

Mirik Valley, Darjeeling

Season - Autumnal Flush, November

Season

Autumnal Flush, November

Altitude - 5500-7000 ft

Altitude

5500-7000 ft

Cultivar -  AV2

Cultivar

AV2

Card image cap

Tea Type

Whole leaf oolong tea

Rare Frosted Oolong: A Darjeeling Autumnal Delight

This Darjeeling Oolong tea is a perfect cup to cozy with during the fall. Its lovely amber color has a rich mouthfeel and flavor and is reminiscent of mulled wine. You will experience beautiful flavor notes of honey, malt, oranges, plums, oak, and spices like cardamom and cloves. Just like the orange trees in Mirik Valley that are laden with ripe, juicy oranges at this time, this tea has a predominant orange flavor note that reminds you of a natural Earl Grey! Small batch and premium, this rare Darjeeling tea is a must-try if you are a tea enthusiast or aficionado.

Our Rare Frosted Oolong is a sensational autumnal tea from the high mountains of Mirik in Darjeeling. This rare oolong tea is made for only a couple of weeks in mid November, from frosted leaves as temperatures during the time reach below freezing. If you visit Mirik while this wonderful tea is being made, you will find that the landscape is stunning. With a cold nip in the air, there is a sleepy feel to the town and tea gardens. While the frosted tea plants are just about ready to become dormant for the prolonged winter in the high mountains, the gardens are dotted with pink blooms of cherry blossom trees and fruit-laden orange trees. If you wake up just early enough, you will see tea pluckers bundled up in their woolens walking up to the highest altitude of the tea garden to pick the most delicate frosted two leaves and a bud, which are then used to create this tea. After plucking, the rare Darjeeling tea undergoes outdoor withering, oxidation, fixation, hand rolling and drying. When we visited Darjeeling in November, we were absolutely enthralled by the region and experiencing the creation of this artisanal tea. Our Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong has a quintessential and romantic feeling that is simply Darjeeling!

Dry leaves

Reddish brown rolled leaves with abundant golden buds. Aromas of grapes, wine, spice, wood and grass.

Wet leaves

Coppery in color with aromas of grapes, black currant, seaweed , wood and freshly baked bread rolls.

Tea liquor

Translucent amber in color, with sweet malt and fruity aromas, the frosted tea has a rich mouthfeel, juicy texture, full body, and minimal astringency with a lasting aftertaste. It is sweet with some sour, bitter, and umami notes. You are greeted with sweet notes of honey and malt with the first sips, giving way to interesting and complex flavors of oranges and plums that mingle with warm spices such as cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom. Wildflowers, honeysuckle, orange blossom, and oak notes are present throughout and balance the tea. Rare Frosted Oolong is just marvelous and reminiscent of a natural Earl Grey!

Caffeine Level

Caffeine Level Caffeine Level Caffeine Level Caffeine Level

Low-Moderate

How To Make The Perfect Darjeeling Oolong Tea

Steeping Instructions

Western Style

Number of infusions per 2.5 g: 3-4

1
Quantity
Quantity

2.5 gms of tea (use a digital scale)

2
Temperature
Temperature

120-150 ml (4-5 fl-oz) or 1/2 - 2/3rd cup of water at 90°C - 95°C (or 195°F - 205°F)

3
Steeping Time
Steeping Time
  • 1st infusion:1-2 minutes
    Pour and enjoy
  • 2nd infusion:45 seconds - 1 minute
  • 3rd infusion:45 seconds - 1 minute

Gongfu Style

This rare oolong tea works great for the gongfu style as it helps coax out all the subtle flavors.

1
Quantity
Quantity

We recommend 5 gm of tea

2
Temperature
Temperature

100 ml water (approximate 10-20 ml of water per 1 gm of tea) at 85°C - 90°C (or 185°F - 195°F).

3
Steeping Time
Steeping Time
  • Steep the tea for 10s, 15s, 20s, 30s, 45s, and then maybe a minute each time until it loses flavor.

More on: What Do You Need To Steep Tea?

Darjeeling

Origin

Where does your rare Darjeeling tea come from?

Mirik is a small, charming town in the serene hills of Darjeeling district in West Bengal, India. At an elevation of 5000 ft., it is surrounded by lush tea gardens, orange orchards, cardamom plantations, and forests of tall, dark Japanese cedars. Mirik, pronounced as Mir-yok, means ‘a place burnt by fire’ in Lepcha. Its cool and moist climate makes it the perfect setting for growing tea.

Benefits of Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea

Savor the exquisite Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea, harvested at 5000 feet. Rich in antioxidants, it promotes heart health, aids digestion, improves brain health, enhanced focus and relaxation. With a mellow sweetness and zero astringency, this rare winter Oolong offers a delightful fusion of fruity aromas and a remarkable, health-conscious tea experience.

Read more about Why Darjeeling Tea is called the ‘Champagne of Teas’

Meet

Chaiwala Panda

Red pandas dwell in the Eastern Himalayan region of India and also in China. They are skillful acrobats that are arboreal. They are mostly herbivorous and their name comes from a Nepali word “ponya” which means one who eats bamboo. Red pandas are endangered and there are about 10,000 animals left, of which over 50% live in India.

Chaiwala Panda

Customer Reviews

Based on 4 reviews
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M
May D
Stellar

Very smooth and delicious tea. The flavor is perfectly light. A new favorite!

P
Paul Dunsmoor
Tea is Great!

Can't say enough about this tea. I ordered the Earl Grey, Blue Chai, Frosted Oolong, and a green tea. All of it is absolutely delicious. The Frosted Oolong is especially good!

d
diana allen
Good

Smooth and tasty no bitterness but not the oolong weightloss tea

S
Sarah
Delicious!

I love this tea. It's complex and also mellow. It has excellent flavor after multiple steeps.

Tea-riffic Q&A Sips

High quality oolong teas are hard to find in India, which is a predominant black tea growing region. This is definitely one of the rare few that are delicious. Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong is an exceptional whole leaf tea that is made from leaves that have frosted when temperatures get under freezing in November in the tea farm situated in the foothills of the Himalayas. It has lovely flavors, a wonderful mouthfeel and is loved by everyone who tries it.

Scones, biscuits, cookies, cakes, small finger sandwiches will pair well with the Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong Tea. If you are looking for a dish that pairs well and is more local to the area that the is grown in, I would recommend having the tea with momos (dumplings).

Darjeeling Oolong tea has a moderate amount of caffeine, less caffeine than black tea and more than green tea. A cup of Darjeeling oolong tea has around 30-40 milligrams of caffeine. Keep in mind that factors like steeping time and water temperature can influence the final caffeine content.

As it has caffeine we recommend not consuming oolong tea or other caffeinated beverages at night before sleep as you might not sleep very well.

Our Darjeeling oolong tea has a wonderful autumnal character specific to the region with notes of honey, fruit and oak bark.

We recommend having the tea without milk to truly enjoy the flavors. If you would like to add milk, add just a dash.

Chinese high mountain teas like alishan oolongs and wuyi oolongs have specific characteristics based on the mountain they originate from and are made during different seasons. This tea is an autumnal tea and made from tender two leaves and a bud and has characteristic Darjeeling autumnal notes of fruit and honey.

Our single origin autumnal flush Darjeeling Rare Frosted Oolong 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.

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