Margaret's Hope Darjeeling Tea - Loose Leaf

The Margaret's Hope Darjeeling Tea blend from English Tea Store is a second flush tea that is a delicate tending astringent cup with the distinctive "Muscatel" character. The hints of currant create an almost wine-like taste.

During the 1930's, the garden was owned by Mr. Bagdon who lived in London but visited the tea garden regularly. He had two daughters. The younger daughter named Margaret, who when she saw the tea garden fell in love with it, hoped one day she would have an opportunity to return. Sadly she fell ill on the ship during the return trip to England and died soon after. In her memory, her father changed the garden's name to Margaret's Hope. It is believed that she visits the estate bungalow from the western side, coming through the main guestroom and leaving from the study through the verandah to the tennis courts.

The bushes at Margaret's Hope are almost entirely the Chinese Jat (genus) accounting for the green leafed tippy appearance of the manufactured leaf and the superb fragrance. Because the tea is grown at such high altitudes and in relatively cool weather the bushes do not grow quickly, and as such the production is limited. The best time of the year for quality is during "second-flush" (end May - end June). During this time, Darjeelings are incomparable to any other tea in the world. The fragrance and taste is a complex bouquet that reaches right out of the cup. Some would describe the taste as nutty; others find it reminds them of black currants, but most often it is described as similar to the taste and fragrance of muscat grapes.

The are 3 main times of year for producing good quality Darjeelings:

1st flush - Springtime harvested teas from late Feb. to mid April. The young leaves yield a light tea with generally intense muscatel with "point". A gentle afternoon tea.

2nd flush - Harvested in June, these teas are more fully developed. The liquor is bright and the taste full and round excellent muscatel. An superb afternoon tea that is especially good with scones and raspberry conserve.

Autumnal - Not always available depending upon the weather, they are typified by a round taste and coppery liquor. Excellent as a breakfast tea.

How to Make Tea

Available in 3 sizes (Please select from the options above):

• First time trying English Tea Store's Margaret's Hope Darjeeling Loose Leaf Tea?  Try our Sample Size of 1 ounce.

• Contents loose leaf tea net weight 4 ounces
• Contents loose leaf tea net weight 16 ounces (1 pound)

Caffeine content: Medium - This tea contains natural caffeine found in the L. Camellia Sinensis family. A cup of black tea steeped in boiled water for 5 minutes will contain between 27 to 35 milligrams of caffeine. An equal sized cup of coffee will contain between 80 - 100 milligrams of caffeine. Caffeine quickly becomes soluble in very hot water. If you wish to reduce the caffeine level in this tea, briefly rinsing the tea leaves in extremely hot water will reduce the caffeine content between 25-50% with only a minor effect on taste.

Antioxidant Content: Very High - The longer you steep your tea the more polyphenols will be extracted. (Test results based on 5 minutes steeping time. Polyphenol percentages may fluctuate with lot, grade of tea, testing method, temperature of water and freshness of tea). More antioxidants are extracted from tea (L. Camellia Sinesis) the longer it is brewed. And the more tea is used, the greater the antioxidant benefit.

Please Note: Packaging may read Margaret's Estate Tea