Dooars and Terai
The plains districts at the foot of the Darjeeling hills, producing large volumes of brisk, coloury black tea that is mostly blended rather than sold by origin. It is where a great deal of what is labelled simply 'Indian tea' actually comes from.
Character
Straightforward, brisk and unremarkable on its own, which is exactly what a blend component is for. Worth a record because so much tea sold without an origin is this.
- Flavour
- Roasted, Citrus
- Aroma
- Malty
- Mouthfeel
- Medium, Drying
- Complexity
- Straightforward
- Notes
- light malt, brisk citrus
- Aftertaste
- Short and drying.
Moderate intensity: noticeable weight or grip, but neither dominates the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- India
- Oxidation
- Fully oxidised
- Harvest
- Summer
- Processing
- Withering → Rolling and shaping → Oxidation → Drying
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1–1.5 g/100 ml · 95–100 °C · 1 authored infusion
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Assam clonal
Both North Indian plains teas from assamica stock, and Dooars and Terai leaf routinely goes into blends labelled Assam. The distinction is administrative more than botanical.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Ceylon black tea
Shares 5 descriptors with Dooars and Terai: citrus, roasted, medium, drying and malty.
- Java black tea
Shares 5 descriptors with Dooars and Terai: roasted, citrus, medium, drying and malty.
- Dimbula
Shares 4 descriptors with Dooars and Terai: citrus, medium, drying and malty.
- Kenyan orthodox black tea
Shares 4 descriptors with Dooars and Terai: citrus, medium, drying and malty.
- Malawi black tea
Shares 4 descriptors with Dooars and Terai: roasted, medium, drying and malty.
- Munnar tea
Shares 4 descriptors with Dooars and Terai: citrus, medium, drying and malty.
- Uva
Shares 4 descriptors with Dooars and Terai: citrus, medium, drying and malty.