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Glenburn White Moonshine - 2023 Darjeeling First Flush Loose Leaf Tea

Spring 2023

Glenburn White Moonshine - 2023 Darjeeling First Flush Loose Leaf Tea

Indian White Tea

A stunning rare white tea from Darjeeling, our loose-leaf Glenburn White Moonshine is a sublimely floral first flush from one of India’s best loved estates.

From: Glenburn Valley, Darjeeling, India

LOOSE LEAF TEA
Delivery Info

Shipping policy

 

 UK Deliveries

Method

Cost

Carrier

Transit time

Standard

£3.50, Free - over £35

Royal Mail

2-5 days, Tracked

Tracked

£6.50, Free - over £100

DPD

1-3 days, Tracked

Next-Working-Day

£9.95

DPD

Orders placed before 2pm, Delivered Monday - Friday, Tracked

Saturday

£15.00

DPD

Orders placed before 2pm, Saturday delivery, Tracked

 *Most deliveries will be made within the usual time frame, but some areas and services may experience delays.

 

European Deliveries


Currently, there are some delays with sending parcels to EU countries from the UK. This is due to the UK leaving the European Union. We will keep you updated with any notifications as they happen.

Please note that a tracking number is not provided for EU Standard deliveries. 

CUSTOMS CHARGES: All commercial goods arriving from the UK are subject to VAT, Import Duty and a handling fee in the country receiving the goods.

Method

Cost

Carrier

Transit time

Standard

From £5.50

Royal Mail

3-7 days, up to 21*, Not Tracked (Offered for orders less than £50 only)

Economy

From £5.50

Royal Mail

3-7 days, up to 21*, Not Tracked (Offered for orders less than £50 only)

Tracked

From £15.95

Fedex

3-5 days, up to 8*, Tracked

*Most deliveries will be made within the usual time-frame, but some areas and services may experience delays.

Customers Ordering From Ireland - Please Note: Due to recent restrictions we are unable to ship Chinese teas to Ireland at this present time.

 

Rest of the World

 

Method

Cost

Carrier

Transit time

Standard

From £4.00

Royal Mail

8-15 days, up to 30*, Not Tracked (Offered for orders less than £50 only)

USA tracked

From £15.00

Fedex

2-3 days, up to 7*, Tracked

ROW Tracked

From £18.95

Fedex

1-5 days, up to 5*, Tracked

 *Most deliveries will be made within the usual time frame, but some areas and services may experience delays.

 

International Buyers (Including EU) – Please Note:


Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be before buying.

Customers Ordering From Ireland - Please Note: Due to recent restrictions we are unable to ship Chinese teas to Ireland at this present time.

If you have any questions, please contact us via sales@theteamakers.co.uk | 01322284923

*We aim to dispatch all orders within 1-2 days of receiving your request. However, this can vary during peak times and other conditions outside of our control. Therefore, the below estimates of shipping times have been provided by our couriers.

The origins of Glenburn White Moonshine White Tea


Floral and citrusy in flavour with hints of cool mint, our Glenburn White Moonshine luxury loose leaf tea is heaven-sent. A Darjeeling first flush, this wonderful speciality tea is released each spring in small batches from the historic Glenburn Tea Estate, located in the cloud-shrouded foothills of the Himalayas.

As soon as you open the caddy, you're met with the most enticing of aromas – a lingering mix of sweet, floral, fruity and fresh scents rising from its wiry leaves. Long, tippy and elegantly curled, these leaves are dominated by silver tips and mossy-green buds, hinting at the exceptional flavour waiting to be released.

When brewed, this Darjeeling tea from the 2023 spring harvest is light golden in colour with a delicate, understated taste that has plenty of sweet, citrusy characters plus the added complexity of mint and subtle floral notes. Exceptionally low in both caffeine and astringency, with a lively character and creamy mouthfeel, it's a wonderful example of why the finest Darjeeling's are often referred to as the 'Champagne of teas'.

Read more about our Glenburn White Moonshine White Tea


How this Darjeeling white tea is made


Glenburn White Moonshine is made exclusively from the most tender shoots of the estate’s tea bushes. Only the most experienced pickers are allowed to work on this rare tea, which requires meticulous care to produce. Being a white tea, there is no oxidation involved in the processing method, which means it’s made with low-intervention techniques – instrumental in preserving the tea’s antioxidant-rich compounds.

As well as careful handling, the weather is a key determining factor as to how good a flush will be. The 2023 harvest started in mid April after a drought- and Covid-impacted few years. The pickers at Glenburn tea garden harvested enough of the silvery tender clonal buds essential to produce another outstanding White Moonshine.


Where is Glenburn Tea Estate?


Two snow-fed Himalayan rivers – the Rangeet and the Rung Dung – wind through the spectacular Glenburn gardens, located in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal at elevations between 244m and 985m.

Founded in 1859 by a Scottish tea company, Glenburn Tea Estate, it later passed into the hands of the Prakash family, local landowners who today are one of the most respected tea-making dynasties in India.

Fondly known in Darjeeling as the Chaiwala family – Hindi for ‘tea planters’ – the Prakashes are currently in their fourth generation at Glenburn. They continue to run as a tea plantation and boutique retreat.

Glenburn is a place of outstanding natural beauty, home to a plethora of flora and fauna, including fruit trees, wildflowers, rare birds and insect life, including important pollinators such as honeybees. As well as preserving Glenburn’s ecological values, the Prakash family run the estate with ethical practices front and centre. Workers employed in the garden have full access to healthcare and education, and the estate’s code of conduct promises to uplift the lives of local people and produce fair, ethical and clean teas.


If you love this Indian white loose leaf tea


One of the most eagerly anticipated times of year on the Indian tea calendar is the spring release of the first flush Darjeelings. Our tea tasters have sourced some of the district’s best for you to try. Some exceptional examples include Okayti, Margaret’s Hope, Jungpana and Upper Namring. Give them a try, and don’t forget to let us know what you think!

You can find out more about Darjeeling and what makes its flushes so special in our Darjeeling 2023 First Flush Tea Journal article. For the full range of The Tea Makers of London white teas, browse our Tea Shop. 

Can’t decide which Darjeeling to order? Explore our Darjeeling tea collection to find your perfect brew.

Ingredients


Pure Indian white tea

Tasting notes


The tea offers a spring white blossom aroma and light-yellow infusion. A delicate cup with complex layers of fruity and floral notes with intensely muscatel mouthfeel.

Region


Darjeeling is the northernmost district in West Bengal, Eastern India. Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, it is bordered by Nepal in the West, Sikkim state to the North, and Bangladesh on the South-eastern boundary. The eponymous city, 2,100m above sea level, is located on a long, narrow mountain ridge of the Lesser Himalayas.

Learn more about the Darjeeling Region of India

On a clear day, the city offers unparalleled views of Kanchenjunga (the world’s third highest mountain), and Mount Everest can also be seen from nearby Tiger Hill, which itself sits at 2,590m above sea level. The highest peaks in the district are part of the Singalila Ridge and reach 3,600m. Depending on the elevation, the climate is either Humid Subtropical (CFA) in the lower areas, or Subtropical Highland (Cwb) on the higher hills, with a Tundra climate (ET) on the higher mountains, and numerous microclimates along the steep relief.

The city itself enjoys a mild and temperate climate (Cwb), with average lows of 10°C in the winter, and average highs of 21°C in the summer. The summers are wet and overcast with high precipitation from May until September; and the winters are mild and clear. Winds are generally low throughout the year. The land between 1,000m and 2,000m is mostly used for cultivation: principally tea, but also rice, corn, wheat and cardamom. The slopes above 2,000m are covered in forests, with a mixture of semi-evergreen, temperate and alpine trees. The forest around the city of Darjeeling is home to rare, protected orchids.

The reserve forests are also home to small Indian civets, mongooses, badgers, as well as a conservation centre for the elusive and endangered red pandas. Teas from such altitudes are considered high-grown. Considering that Darjeeling is only 280 miles from Assam, it is remarkable that the two regions produce vastly different teas.

As well as climatic and topographic differences, soil quality varies. Whilst Assam is considered very fertile, Darjeeling soil is loose and poorly consolidated, with risks of landslides. But the steep slopes ensure efficient drainage, and the misty, wet summers with limited direct sunlight are ideal for the cultivation of the Camellia sinensis sinensis. The mild, dry winters also encourage a period of dormancy, so the new Spring leaves can burst with flavours (First Flush harvest).

Glenburn White Moonshine - 2023 Darjeeling First Flush Loose Leaf Tea

£14.50
Glenburn White Moonshine - 2023 Darjeeling First Flush Loose Leaf Tea has a rating of 4.9 stars based on 33 reviews.