The well-whittled industry joke is that TGFOP stands for “Too Good For Ordinary People”, but you'll be on the A-List choosing this incredible tea.
Fresh, flowery, light and intensely aromatic this Darjeeling is rightly regarded as the Beaujolais Nouveau of the black tea world.
Quite simply, it’s so gorgeous you could get drunk on this stuff. THE perfect afternoon tea.
Country - India
Origin - Darjeeling
Leaf - Dark, long wiry
Aroma Winey, clean
Liquor Pale amber colour. Very clean.
Cupping Notes Muscatel, winey overtones. Hints of peach.
Brewing Tips 2.5g in 200ml of water at 90°C. Steep for 3 mins
About the Darjeeling Region:
Thurbo is located at an altitude varying from 980 to 2,440 metres. The Mechi flows on its northern side and the Rangbag on its south. Thubro enjoys typical hill climate, where temperatures reman low with less sunshine.
The two most significant contributors to Darjeeling's economy are tourism and the tea industry. Darjeeling tea, due to the unique agro-climatic conditions of Darjeeling, has a distinctive natural flavour, is internationally reputed and recognised as a geographical indicator. The office of the Darjeeling Indian Tea Association (DITA) is located at Darjeeling. Darjeeling produces 7% of India's tea output, approximately 9,000,000 kilograms (20,000,000 lb) every year. The tea industry has faced competition in recent years from tea produced in other parts of India as well as other countries like Nepal.
The grades for whole leaf Darjeeling (OP) grades are:
OP1 |
slightly delicate, long, wiry leaf with the light liquor |
OPA |
bold, long leaf tea which ranges from tightly wound to almost open |
OP |
main grade, in the middle between OP1 and OPA, can consist of long wiry leaf without tips |
OP Superior |
primarily from Indonesia, similar to OP |
Flower OP |
high quality tea with a long leaf and few tips, considered the second grade in Assam, Dooars and Bangladesh teas, but the first grade in China |
FOP1 |
as above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the FOP classification |
Golden Flower OP1 |
higher proportion of tip than FOP top grade |
Tippy Golden FOP |
the highest proportion of tip, main grade in Darjeeling and Assam |
TGFOP1 |
as above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the TGFOP classification |