First Flush Darjeeling 2026

What is Darjeeling tea?

There are an incredible number of types tea around the world. A stronghold for tea cultivation is Asia, and India in particular is known for their teas. It is also here that the coveted Darjeeling tea comes from. Darjeeling is a region located in the Indian state of West Bengal, but the tea has become known worldwide.

India started growing tea commercially in the 1800s when the British had trouble buying tea from China. During the same period, a surgeon named Dr. Campbell to experiment with planting tea seeds in his garden in Darjeeling. With this, the seeds were sown for what is now known as India's most famous tea: Darjeeling tea.

First Flush – tea's answer to champagne

Darjeeling tea is picked four times a year, and First Flush is the first spring picking after the tea plants have rested over the winter. The picking period takes place from the end of February to the middle of April and is followed by an intricate manufacturing process.

First Flush is known as tea's answer to champagne and is eagerly awaited every year by many tea lovers. The special soil conditions and the humid climate in Darjeeling provide optimal conditions for the light, elegant but also complex tea.

First Flush Darjeeling teas are highly rated by many tea connoisseurs and are perceived as one of the most interesting teas. The tea is best characterized as lighter and less fermented than most black teas, but more complex than green teas.

Making Darjeeling tea

It is a very complex process to make Darjeeling tea, as you do not use the usual method. First, you have to do a very selective picking of the leaves, where you take two leaves and one shoot. It is so intricate that 22,000 shoots only make one kilo of tea.

The leaves must then be dried, rolled and sifted to separate the finer leaves. To get the coveted taste of Darjeeling tea, the leaves are fermented to develop aroma. The final step in the complicated process is to further dry the tea leaves by transporting them on a conveyor belt through 115-120 degrees for 20-30 minutes. When the leaves are ready, they are sorted by size and packed.

Buy First Flush Darjeeling tea at Nordic Tea

Do you also want to get your hands on the popular and coveted First Flush Darjeeling tea? So dive into the selection and find your favorite tea. If you are interested in more teas from India, explore our selection of Indian teas .