ostaz wrote:
> Am I missing something?

For sure.
IMO Darjeelings are a world of their own, but then I tasted a couple
100s if not more over the years. Their aromas and flavors cover a HUGE
spectrum and they never cease to fascinate me.
Just 3 days ago I picked up a 100g pack of wonderful autumnal leaves
from a biodynamic (Demeter) village project. Depending on the major
brewing parameters the aroma and flavors reached from exotic woods over
extremely fruity (peaches) to a more flowery character that strongly
reminded me of one of those handcrafted, lightly oxidised Oolongs I
brought back from China.
Don't get me wrong here, I really love chinese teas (Yunnans, Keemuns,
Oolongs, Pu-Erhs) but when it comes to complexity (read: (finicky)
chameleon like character) IMO not too many other leaves beat a
high-grade Darjeeling, though the real jewels maybe hard to get in some
parts of the world (entire series of top-notch leaves are often sold
BEFORE the harvest even starts).

I can't wait to sample the new first flushes, but the weather doesn't
look to good (for tea) these days, not a single drop of rain for weeks
- it slowly get's serious over here.

Karsten / Darjeeling