India did it again. About a hundred and fifty years after a British surgeon brought Chinese tea seeds to Darjeeling and unwittingly gave rise to one of the worldâ??s most successful tea stories, the districtâ??s gardens have borrowed another leaf from China and made a success out of it. Over the last few years, a number of estatesâ??led by the pioneering Poobongâ??began producing white tea. Now it ranks on par with the best whites from China, where the tradition originated in the late 18th century.

I very much think of Darjeeling as black tea, but really wanted to give their white a shot, and jumped at a chance when I discovered I could buy a sample size of Darjeeling Silver Needle from Special Teas for $4â??white tea being abominably expensive.

I brewed it for the first time today, steeping 3g of leaves for two minutes in water that had been heated up to 185F (85C) as recommended. The cup I got was pale golden with an incredibly subtle scent. It smelled like a tea for relaxation or meditation.

In the mouth, it was delightfully light and sweet, with just an idea of leafiness in the end. I canâ??t say I could find any of the honeydew melon promised by Special Teas. This could well have something to do with the fact that I am not hugely familiar with, nor do I particularly like, any melon, but the fruity sweetness was definitely there. It had the kind of fragrant, sweet softness of Monetâ??s mature paintings.