Darjeeling First Flush from Singbulli Ting Ling district | HOJO Online Speciality Tea Shop

This spring, we are introducing 4 types of new Darjeeling first flush tea Among these new teas, I would like to make a brief introduction of our “Singbulli Clonal Flowery”.

Singbulli estate is an IMO certified organic tea garden. This estate is very famous for producing good quality clonal tea. “Clonal tea” means the tea was made from hybridization. Clonal tea bushes are not grown from seeds but from hybrid clones. They are bred for specific qualities, thus some of the clonal teas became the most sought after teas in the market due to their superb taste and quality.

The size of Singbulli estate that produces tea is 474 hectares large (1 hectare = 100m2 x 100m2). In the tea estate, distance from one end to the other is 22km long. It is literally a vast area of tea estate. In Darjeeling, tea estate is not just a flat land. It covers a number of hills and mountain. In Singbulli, there are 9 mountains in that area and it is classified into 4 areas as follow:

1. Singbulli
2. Manja
3. Ting Ling
4. Murmah

Singbulli from Ting Ling district is famous for producing full bodied tea

Among these 4 areas, Ting Ling is a special district known to produce top quality tea in Singbulli. The teas produced in Ting Ling are clonal cultivars. The price of tea from Ting Ling is very exclusive too. I believe that the first flush tea produced in Ting Ling area should be one of the most expensive teas found in Darjeeling. The most important reason I selected this tea is the taste. This tea gives very strong body. At least, its full body character is the strongest among other Darjeeling teas I have ever tasted so far. In addition to the body, it also gives strong after taste too. The taste is well rounded, yet very rich and soft.

Based on my experience, the after taste is composed by how tea bushes were grown. For example, the altitude, the age of tea tree, the application of fertilizer and pruning could affect the after taste. As for the body, it has something to do with the soil of tea garden. There are many Darjeeling teas that give stronger after taste than Singbulli clonal flowery. However, only very few (extremely limited) tea that could give both full body and deep after taste. This is the reason why I bought this tea.

Floral and Fruity flavor

This tea has deeper fermentation than ordinary Darjeeling first flush tea. Usually the level of the fermentation affects the flavor. With very light fermentation, the flavor of Darjeeling is very greenish, herbal-like, with a hint of floral fragrance. However, Singbulli Clonal Flowery is made of medium fermentation. Its flavor is floral and fruity. My friends who tasted Singbulli Clonal Flower commented that this tea has a delightful aroma like fresh bouquet of Margaret, rose and marry gold.