Description pending. In the meantime you can order this tea!

Description pending. In the meantime you can order this tea!

Description pending. In the meantime you can order this tea!

Description pending. In the meantime you can order this tea!

Description pending. In the meantime you can order this tea!

Now, Thunderbolt Tea makes it possible for tea lovers around the world to taste samples before they actually buy it in greater quantity. Here is an exquisite range of nine Darjeeling teas from the recent Autumn Flush 2010 which you can try.

Most of the teas are limited at hand and we haven't included one tea in the samples package i.e. "Singell White Tea", its just that we don't have enough of this tea to be included in the sampler package.

Now only you can decide which tea best suits your palate and accordingly you can buy that when stock exhausts in your canisters.

Hope you enjoy the teas! Happy Tea Sipping friends!!!!

List of teas included in the package are Click Here!

IMPORTANT NOTE: If your order comprises of this tea sample package only, then it will be sent by Airmail (30 days delivery time), but if your tea order comprises of this sample package + other tea(s), it will be sent by EMS Post (20 days delivery time).

Arya Ruby is one of the prized jewels of Arya Tea Estate. It has that consistency irrespective of different tea seasons Darjeeling has every year. Even if it’s a first flush Ruby production, the liqor is heavier than the rest, tending more towards darker color. This Autumnal Ruby is no ordinary and is one of the best productions done by Arya during this recent Autumn Flush. Only you can judge this and reflect back on how we explained, and we believe that you won’t regret purchasing this tea.

DRY: Ruby is generally larger in size compared to its other Darjeeling counterparts. The leaves are longish/elongated which twists and some take the shape of an arc. It has a complex mixture of colors with leaf variations in size meaning with a mixture of leaf and buds. The leaves are found to colorize with a mixture of light brown, chocolate brown, black, green and silver buds. It has an overall appearance which tends towards more of coppery-brown, but the beautiful color blend make other colors talk of their domination too :) It has abundance of buds or silver tips (popularly known) with a ranging variation of grey, silver and golden buds. Ruby is always known for its refreshing and warm caramellic aroma which feels like there is a confectionary just below your house and you can feel their baking as they prepare. The aroma lends its hand towards being more of pastry like, chocolaty, milky and sweet; also speaks of being vanilla like.

INFUSED: Its now time for the elongated and twisted dry leaves to unfold beautifully and reveal itself its hidden characteristics. The infused leaves gives a coppery infusion with a slight hint of olive green leaves blended beautifully which is bright, thus depicting a bright liqor. It has an inherent malty aroma which is also sweet. It is also nutty, reminiscent of almonds.

CUP: It has a beautiful bright cup tending more towards light orange. The coloration of the cup may very with steeping time and amount of tea leaves used – longer the steeping time, darker will it be; less amount of leaves, less coloration. Anyway, the liqor is smooth and fills your mouth, full bodied, with that mature sweetness which is also malty and nutty.

This is an amazing tea which everyone should try. The Ruby is one of its kinds that no other tea garden in Darjeeling has been able to replicate. Apart from other jewels from Arya, Ruby is one of their most popular. Only a handful of such teas are produced each season and we are lucky to offer you the same. It’s just that they don’t have enough of these tea leaves to produce in greater or bulk quantity. Ruby’s are made from special AV2 clone tea bushes and they have limited tea bushes of this kind. So you can imagine. Don’t miss on it, try and analyze it yourself, and we believe that you won’t be disappointed!

Castleton Tea Garden, owned by the Goodricke Group Ltd., is considered top rated tea garden, the crème de la crème, of all Goodricke’s gardens. Planted by Dr. Charles Graham in the year 1885, Castleton is a historic Darjeeling tea garden, which spans its tea growing slopes across Kurseong, Pankhabari and the Hill Cart Road (road leading to the hot plains of Siliguri – 70-80 km away from Darjeeling). Most of the tea bushes in Castleton are pure china bushes which make excellent muscatel teas which Castleton is famous for. Only a few sections are dedicated to clonal tea bushes. This tea is prepared from excellent china bushes from their “Baseri (resting place)” tea growing section – a real treasure to be in the company of.

DRY: Most of china graded teas are smaller in size and this being a classic china graded Darjeeling tea is no different. It has an evenly sized tea leaves with a definite bloom bearing an attractive sheen on all. The sorting seems fine with very less of a stalk which is considered a common feature for all Darjeeling Autumnal ‘classic’ teas. It has a good “make”, well rolled and twisted. A well made tea with an overall leaf appearance of black and brown leaves accompanied by some greens. It has a pleasing bouquet of musk which is also sweet, honey like and slightly roasted, but pleasant and stimulating.

INFUSED: The wet leaves impart a coppery infusion with a mix of dark green tea leaves which blends beautifully with the rest. It has a pleasing sweet nose which depicts the freshness of the tea leaves. It has a thoroughly pronounced aroma which is muscatel in nature, though calling it muscatel is not correct during the Autumn Flush when it is a dedicated characteristic of a Darjeeling Second Flush. But musky teas such as these do get manufactured during the Autumn Flush season, not the First Flush. It has an overwhelming fruity nose, somewhat plum oriented and nutty as the almonds.

CUP: An Autumnal cup in the pure sense with coppery liqor that is bright and somewhat having some thickness added to it. The cup is slightly astringent and steeping for about 2-3 minutes is recommended, longer steeping times can cause bitterness in the cup. The cup is full bodied and fills your mouth with desirable liquid thickness or fullness.It has rich briskness that tastes sweet, fruity and nutty. The muskiness can be felt.

A quality tea produced by the world famous Castleton Tea Garden. Thanks to Mr. D.B. Gurung, the tea maker at Castleton for saving us this tea. A classic graded tea, an example of fine plucking and manufacture. Taste this variety if you have tasted others and know the difference.

This is another tea from Singbulli, produced in very limited quantity, which proved ethereal. This is a special oolong variety from Singbulli with abundance of silver tips and thus the name “Silver wonder”. Mr. Parekh had made this tea especially for us on demand and upon inquiry for more of the product; he said that it was not possible because those tea leaves with which this tea was made weren’t available. We had bought the whole 40 kg lot and its one tea which we can be proud of. Try it and you will know it! We only bring you the best and rare!!

DRY: The dry tea leaves are very stylish in make. It consists of chunky silver tips with abundance of tiny silver hairs denoting a high quality tea. The leaves are longish/elongated in shape with tapering at the ends. Two leaves and a bud are clearly visible. The overall appearance of the tea leaves is whitish due to the bold and evenly sorted silver tips and their tiny hairs. Apart from the white silver tips, it also has a complex color blended tea leaves which comes in chocolate brown, copper and yellow colors. It has a gorgeous bouquet which is fresh and sweet, and feels like those bakery ovens are at work giving out those caramelized fragrance. Slightly fruity, lemony and nutty.

INFUSED: Those huge chunky leaves beautifully agonizes in water giving an overall coppery with a mixture of green, brown and pale yellow tea leaves. This bright infusion also reveals two leaves and a bud to some extent. The buds or silver tips tend to turn yellowish in nature. It has a sweet as well as slightly salty nose which is fruity as can be compared to grapes and nutty as the almonds.

CUP: The cup is rather light tending more towards that organy cup. As you sip the tea from the bright cup, you can feel the biscuity aroma with certain strength of sweetness. The cup tastes sweet and fresh, slightly creamy and buttery. It has lively brisk character showing signs of tea grown at high altitudes. It is fruity and slightly floral as well. A smooth rounded cup with very slight hint of astringency.

Singbulli Tea Estate falls on Mirik valley sub-division which hosts numerous other Darjeeling Tea gardens. Singbulli Tea Estate produces one of the best First Flush teas and this autumn, we were amazed to see this clonal variety full of tips. Being a classic Darjeeling Tea variety, autumnal classics have less of tips or bud content, but this was one tea which had in abundance. Mr. Parekh and Mr. Mantri was kind enough to sample us this tea which was no doubt a good quality classic Darjeeling Tea. This tea has become the favorite of some of the tea lovers who buy from us. Try it yourself and know the difference.

DRY: The overall appearance of this classic Darjeeling Tea from Singbulli is chocolaty, but with a complex blend of variety of colors, black, green, chocolate, brown etc. It has a high content of silver and golden tips (buds) which is quite surprising when it comes to autumnal classic varieties. The tea leaves are rather miniature in size and can prove economical with the use of less tea leaves during preparation. It is fresh and sweet smelling. It has a marvelous bouquet of fruitiness with undertones of milk, chocolate and caramel. Slightly muscatel as well.

INFUSED: The leaves result in a bright coppery infusion depicting a good bright cup. The silver and golden buds turn into dark brownish-yellow infused leaves. The fresh and beautiful nose from the wet leaves denotes a well manufactured tea. It has a pronounced aroma that is fruity, fresh, and sweet, slightly veggie and musky as well.

CUP: It has a bright coppery liqor with a reddish/orange hue. It is full bodied mellow and malty at the same time. It has a certain degree of briskness which seems to sparkle and spread in the mouth. It is rich in taste with a creamy precipitate when cooled. It is slightly grassy and has a mild and balanced astringency. It is highly nutty and slightly fruity in taste.

This tea is the one which drew our attention. The muskiness in the autumnal season is considered to be wrong by the tea makers here in Darjeeling, but this tea is one that speaks of it. A beautiful tea sent by Mr. Sudhanshu and resembles slightly with Risheehat’s Wiry Musk, but totally different in its characteristics. The total muscatel character is hard to replicate during this Autumnal season, but desirable amount of muscatel aroma is present no doubt. A fine autumnal tea from Giddapahar.

DRY: As the name suggests, the dry tea leaves are wire like or wiry. Thin elongated tea leaves, well rolled and twisted in nature. It has an overall appearance that shed their colors to be a complex mixture of shades of dark and light brown, black and copper. The long and cylindrical tea leaves comprises a fair amount of silver tips. It has a marvelous fresh and fruity aroma. It has an overwhelming sweet creamlike nose which can be compared to those chocolate bars you get in the market. It also has hints of having mild grassy characteristics which is accompanied by a buttery aroma.

INFUSED: A magnificent bright coppery infusion with hints of dark green tea leaves forming a perfect blend. The elongated tea leaves open up in a marvelous fashion. The bright coppery infusion has a pleasing bouquet which reveals to be somewhat sweet, fruity and faintly musky or muscatel in character.

CUP: A perfect autumnal cup, coppery mixed with a reddish hue. The cup is full bodied and has a balanced sweetness which can be proclaimed as honey oriented. It has a light astringency and the dryness can be felt after you have taken in the liqor. The lovely bright cup fills the mouth with buttery effects. It is fruity and has mild floral characteristics. Has some degree of muscatel flavor. The cup is mature giving a sweet lingering aftertaste.

An affordable classic graded Autumnal Darjeeling tea from Arya Tea Estate. With the effect of having some green leaves, it lends some characteristics which is somewhat First Flush like, but definitely Autumn as it is. In Autumn, though the tea processing is complex and depends highly on how a tea maker makes his tea with a targeted output in mind, green leaves during the Autumn flush reasons to increase the flavor of tea.

DRY: It bears an overall blackish-brown appearance with green leaves mixed in it. It seems well rolled and twisted. The leaves are fragrant with fresh/slightly grassy nose which also tends to impart the characteristics of being slightly caramel like, milky and nuty. It has a slight floral nose as well.

INFUSED: The wet or infused leaves unfold into a beautiful olive green-coppery infusion. It has a definite nose depicting some minty characteristics which also seems somewhat grassy depicting freshness. It also emits a balanced nose of being fruity and flowery.

CUP: As it is a classic autumnal Darjeeling tea, it plays by the rule that has been laid out – a beautiful coppery liqor with an orangy hue. The green leaf content makes it a well balanced astringent character which spreads in the mouth. The cup imparts lovely briskness which is floral and fruity in taste. It has a remarkable underlying sweetness which becomes prominent and lends to a lingering aftertaste.

This tea is another example of Arya Tea Estate’s normal grade tea made stylish in appearance with enhanced quality characteristics of the clonal tea bush from which this tea is made. Similar to the characteristics of Ruby, this has its own definite characteristics which marks its “queen” in its own arena. A beautiful clonal tea from Arya Tea Estate which many of us are now fans.

DRY: The dry tea leaves are quite chunky, well rolled and twisted, elongated and tapering towards the end. A well made tea, stylish in appearance for an Autumnal tea imparting a definite bloom. It has abundance of silver and golden tips with a prominent luster due to its fine and shiny hairs. The overall appearance of the tea leaves tend towards more of being chocolate brown with a complex color mixture of light brown, dark brown, copper and some greens. It has an intriguing coffee like, chocolaty aroma that is accompanied by certain sweetness. It is fruity like the smell of a plum and hints of muscatel aroma can be found.

INFUSED: The elongated well rolled and twisted dry tea leaves reveals its magic by beautifully unfolding into a copper infusion with a blend of dark olive green leaves cuddled up inbetween. It has a fresh sweet and minty nose which is also highly fruity like the plum. It comes accompanied with the muscatel nose which is considered a Second Flush character.

CUP: It has an overall lovely cup that is copper in color which seems stuck to a reddish hue. It is full bodied with very little astringency and as you spread the liqor in your mouth, it gives you a warm buttery spread effect. Simultaneously if you are sipping and inhaling the aroma (that’s how tea tasting is done), you will get a sweet aroma which seems somewhat like hard burnt sugar and caramellic. The cup’s taste impart a buttery taste which is at the same time sweet and caramellic. It has a beautiful fruity and nutty taste which bears resemblance to almonds.

Defnitely a rare Darjeeling clonal breed from Arya Tea Estate. This is also a limited quantity version and not easily available elsewhere. Try the rare and decide on your own the uniqueness of this tea. Again a rare gem from Arya Tea Estate.

Giddpahar (Eagle’s Craig) Tea Estate, a family owned tea garden which lies in between Siliguri and Kurseong have in the recent years come up with good/quality production. Mr. Sudhanshu is the main guy from the family who markets Giddapahar’s tea. From the round of tea tastings we do every season, sometimes Giddapahar excels over some renowned tea garden teas. This china delight is one we liked from other china graded invoices they sent. The tea fields of Giddapahar comprises mostly of china varietals, but recently they have started some clonals as well, which have come up with good results.

DRY: Since it’s a classic graded china variety, the tea leaves are smaller as is the case with all china classic Darjeeling Teas. The leaves are well rolled and twisted and is similar in size to Castleton above, but little larger. The overall appearance of the tea leaves comprises of dark chocolate/black leaves with slight hint of greens which is an eminent character with most of classic graded china variety Autumnal Darjeeling. It has a fair amount of silver tips. It has a sweet bouquet which seems fresh smelling. Slightly grassy with a faint muscatel aroma.

INFUSED: A beautiful coppery infusion with some dark-green infused tea leaves. The blend inbetween the complex mixture of colors is remarkable. The nose comprises complex undertones of fruity aroma which can be compared to have been derived from the grapes and thus possesses muscatel characteristics. It has faint nose of nuttiness accompanied by some very mild veggie notes.

CUP: A lovely full-bodied coppery cup with an orange hue. It has certain briskness which is overwhelming and has a silky mouth feel. It’s a smooth cup slightly grassy and fresh. Emits slight vegetal notes which in turn is also fruity and floral. Slight notes of muskiness can be inhaled as you are simultaneously sipping the cup.

An affordable tea from the Eagle’s Craig in Kurseong, well balanced and can be enjoyed as your everyday cuppa.

Singell Tea Estate falls just below the road which runs inbetween Kurseong and Darjeeling. One can see their sign board on the road itself, but have to descend down to reach the actual Singell factory. Its an organic tea estate and mostly focuses on producing classic Darjeeling Tea varieties. This tea was special try out you can say and they have come out with good results. On the lines of Arya’s white tea in appearance, it is a delicately made tea which can prove a real delight to a tea connoisseur’s desire.

DRY: The dry tea leaves are as if its on its original form with two leaves and a bud present. These bold tea leaves are voluminous rather than being weight specific. Overall texture of the tea leaves speaks of being greenish with a slight yellowish hue. It has a mild flowery and veggie aroma which is also sweet smelling as well as salty. A slight nutty hint can be felt as well. The overall appearance of the tea leaves is stylish with visible needle shaped silver tips or buds. It also imparts a fresh smell that seems slightly grassy.

INFUSED: If you can see the leaves unfolding when in water, the magic is revealed. Whatever curled up leaves they possess remarkably unfolds into a florescent green infusion accompanied by a slight yellow hue. The tips or buds are clearly visible, some moon-shaped, tipped at the final ends. The large and chunky two leaves and a bud are seen in abundance, bright and shiny due to the infused silver hairs on the tea leaves. The infused leaves are sweet/salty smelling with tender floral nose. It has a pronounced and pleasing nose which seems somewhat like fresh boiled vegetables.

CUP: The strength of the cup of weak which is reminiscent of a Darjeeling white tea character. It has a bright, pale (faint) yellow cup which is almost almost colorless. A delicate tea, well made, with light veggie notes which are also floral and nutty in characteristics. It has a sweet taste which comes packed with some saltiness and veggie taste.

We advise you to use more of the tea leaves and also increase the steeping time to about 4-5 minutes at about 80 degree C. And yes, don’t forget to use good water, filter it if its hard.

A limited edition tea which is very less at hand. We are not offering in this tea in the tea sample package offer above as we don’t have enough of it! So grab your share before it gets exhausted on our shelves.

Actually Giddapahar is a china variety tea garden with most of its bushes as china bush or what is called here in Darjeeling as “chinery gaach”. Recently they have come up with some clonal teas as well and thanks to Mr. Sudhanshu for sending us the clonal variety as well. Mr. Sudhanshu is always generous in sending all of the tea samples from which we choose. We chose three from the range of tea samples he sent us. This is made in the classic way and is one fine tea we tasted from Giddapahar different from the rest of the tea samples sent which came along with this. They have a limited amount of clonal variety now and special care is taken in the plucking and manufacturing. And to be frank, they have achieved good results with it. We liked it, we bought it.

DRY: The dry tea leaves of this Giddaphar’s clonal variety is a complex mixture of colors with an overall chocolate brown color fused with copper. It also imparts light brown, black and very few green tea leaves. The tea leaves are well rolled and twisted with considerable amount of silver and golden tips. It has a intriguing bouquet of fruitiness which is reminiscent of ripe apples accompanied by tender sweetness and light musk.

INFUSED: The infused leaves of this clonal variety comprise a coppery infusion with a bottle green seamless blend. The bright and lovely infusion determines the cup and this has an amazing floral and fruity character, reminiscent of sweet smelling apples. It is somewhat musky as well.

CUP: It results in a lovely coppery cup which tend to have a deep red/orange hue. The cup is full bodied with rich fruity aroma and taste. Some muskiness can be experienced by very mild. The liqor has a marvelous and desirable pungency which is well rounded at the same time. Steeping for longer time can result in bitterness, 3 minutes is recommended. It has a sweet and lasting aftertaste.

A pure Autumn Flush organic Darjeeling Tea which is rich in aroma and taste and made highly affordable for all!