Makaibari, ahh that brings up memories.
Just let´s remember that Makaibari is one of the largest DJ estates,
and as with ALL those other gardens [even the big names] the major part
of their harvested leaves isn´t really worth mentioning qualitywise
and ends up in name- and lifeless blends and -yuk-teabags.

BTW, the latest shipment still hasn´t made it here, so darjeelingwise
I happily indulge in this years wonderful Castleton 2nd Muscatel
(China) and one excellent Lingia 2nd Muscatel, as well as loads of
leftovers from late 2005 and early 2006.

Lewis Perin wrote:
> Sorry to say this, but you can go wrong with Makaibari. When I was in
> India last year, I saw - and tasted - some low-grade Makaibari tea
> packaged under the Apoorva brand without any indication of when it was
> harvested.

Lew, we had that Apoorva thing before. I remember you didn´t like
those broken leaves too much, me still thinks of it as a nice bold
breakfast tea, at least the fresher stuff I had the pleasure to drink
over the years.
One Makaibari I personally dislike is their steamed green, that one you
can get all over Darjeeling, wrapped in aluminized paper sporting
bright green stickers - IMO as boring as it gets.

Karsten [2006 Lingia FF in der Tasse]