Darjeeling and the family connection

Long before I became a professional teataster, I'd heard stories of Darjeeling. Great, great uncle Freddie had been a planter there in the late '40s.  Here he is looking very dapper with a Himalayan backdrop. 

Fast forward three quarters of a century and the family connection with tea continues.   At Two Spoons we love this time of year because we get to taste the first flush production from this unique region. 

Yesterday we tasted a range from The Chamong Group, including Phoobsering estate where great uncle Freddie used to work.  Chamong is known for producing high quality, much of it also organic.  Their teas lived up to expectation.  We tasted floral notes, coupled with tropical fruits emanating from the delicate, greenish brown twists of leaf. We are in the process of choosing one for the coming year...we think we've found exactly what we're looking for!

The map comes courtesy of friend, ex-colleague and world-renowned author, Will Battle.  Look carefully and you can see Phoobsering on the map.