A Castleton Comparison

While this has easily been the worst summer of my life, there was an anniversary of sorts. One I had completely forgotten about until I received an e-mail from Vivek Lochan of Lochan Tea. It read: “In continuing with tradition, a sample of the 2015 Castelton Moonlight has been sent to you yesterday by courier.”

Whoah! I thought. Just a few days prior, I’d wondered how I was going to acquire some of that tea this year. For those that don’t know, Castleton Moonlight, second flush, is my absolute favorite tea. Of all time. I first fell in love with it in 2011. And I’ve made it a point to get a hold of it every year since. It’s an oolong from the Darjeeling tea estate dubbed Castleton. I did a full write-up on my history with that tea for the Lochans, which can be found HERE.

If I did get a hold of it, that would mark my fifth anniversary with said tea.

They were curious how this year’s stacked up against last year’s offering. And, truth be told, I was morbidly curious as well. Teas and tea types tend to growing season to growing season. Influences like weather, processing, and quality of the terroir all play a part, and all factors are never completely consistent year-to-year. From what I heard, Darjeeling second flush teas had a late start this year due to weather conditions.

I received the package a week later, and immediately tore into it. Keep in mind, this was at 6PM. Well beyond my usual “black tea” hour.

When I opened the bag for the 2015 stuff, it was like my nose was magnetically drawn to it. This had a markedly different scent than 2014, which stayed on the side of floral. This was spicy! Even a step beyond the normal first flush spicy. Usually, that Darjeeling spiciness didn’t show up as strongly in the second flush – to be replaced, instead, with that whole “muscatel” thing. Nope, this was straight basil-blended-cheese-powder spicy. Sure, the usual floral aromatics were there, but spice won out.

The appearance of the leaves also differed from the 2014.

2014 on the left; 2015 on the right.

While the prior year was greener and tippier than the average Darjeeling, this year’s leaves were browner, longer and twisty . . . -er. It’s like the Castleton estate had changed up their rolling technique. There were still some lighter-colored leaves in the fray, but the browns clearly dominated, giving it a more traditional pekoe appearance.

Fully brewed, both years looked exactly the same. Both liquors were a bright, medium amber – no deviation there.

The differences emerged once I sniffed. The 2014 smelled distinctly “oolong”-y – sweet on the nose – whereas the 2015 was maltier with more notes of nuts and wood. Those same differences also showed up in taste. The floral profile of the 2014 (with a sweet bend) was still in full effect, and the 2015 . . .

Well, sometimes I’ve wondered if mahogany might have a metaphoric taste. No, not by licking a desk, but a taste that embodies mahogany. That was the 2015 to me. It was a totally different tea; burlier, slightly more astringent, but still possessing some of the same layers as last year’s. There was even a layer of “burnt firewood” in the top note, which I found particularly appealing.

Now, the key question: Which one did I like better?

This is a first folks . . . I haven’t a clue. I’m quite partial to the more oolong-y profile of 2014, but the 2015 had a richer profile overall. So, in the meantime . . . color me quizzical. These year-off siblings are tied. Different shades of perfection. Yet again.

This summer needed a little taste of perfect.