BB35 vs AV2 in Darjeeling
Two clonal choices replacing Darjeeling’s old seed-grown China bush, and the reason first flush tastes different now from a generation ago. Both offer better yield than seed stock; they differ in what they give up for it.
What is being compared
Why these get confused
The shift in Darjeeling first flush is often blamed on lighter processing or on climate. Both contribute; the cultivar shift is the largest single factor, and it is the one nobody advertises.
Point by point
| Aspect | BB35 | AV2 |
|---|---|---|
| Leaf type | Small-leaf hybrid stock suited to Darjeeling elevations. | Small-leaf clonal stock selected for aroma above all. |
| Flush it is planted for | Second flush, with muscatel capability. | First flush, and it is the main reason first flush is now so aromatic. |
| Yield against seed-grown bush | Better, and that is the point of it. | Better, with a narrower window in which it excels. |
| Aromatic intensity | High in the right season. | Very high, and forward from the first infusion. |
| Consistency | Good. | Good, and it has become the signature of modern first flush. |
| What replanting costs the district | Little in the second flush, which the old stock did not dominate. | The particular character of seed-grown first flush, which is now scarce. |
The short answer
Neither clone is a decline and both are a change, and the change is not reversible on any short timescale — a replanted section takes years to crop. A drinker who remembers Darjeeling tasting different is usually remembering a different plant population rather than misremembering.
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