First Flush Darjeeling Tea

 

Our First Flush Darjeeling is unique from any other tea that we produce. It hails from the historic Badamtam Estate, where high altitude and cool Himalayan winds produce a superb aromatic spring tea with exceptional minerality and clarity. And what's more, the first crop of 2026, which is known as ‘Invoice DJ1’, is exclusive to Fortnum's so has been made especially for us. That makes it the first of the First Flush! 

Every spring, the First Flush represents the beginning of a new season of growth in Darjeeling, India. The First Flush is the name given to the first “flush” of growth that occurs every spring. All the tea bushes in Darjeeling's gardens lay dormant during the cold winter months, some even get a covering of Himalayan snow. It is during this time that they develop their distinctive flavour, and the First Flush is celebrated in the world of tea.

The Badamtam Estate gardens first opened in 1858 and has, for many decades, been synonymous with producing some of the finest First Flush teas in Darjeeling. The expertise of the tea connoisseurs at Badamtam, where our Darjeeling is grown, gives them the unique ability to know exactly when the leaves are ready to be picked. Equally, they need use only their trained eyes to decipher what is of the highest quality.

The tea itself is wonderfully serene to drink, but the immense journey these little leaves must go through before reaching the cup is what makes this tea so special. While beautiful to behold, these mountainous conditions mean that the Darjeeling tea leaves grow in incredibly steep terrain, with high altitudes and extreme elevations. The challenging conditions in which the tea leaves are grown is what gives them their crisp and uplifting flavour, while the leaves that are picked later – during monsoon season – are grown in far easier conditions and, in turn, have less of a full and flavoursome taste.

Highly aromatic and complex, the tea has exceptional minerality and clarity alongside intense flavour and a light crisp mouthfeel reminiscent of muscatel grapes. And while it is a black tea, First Flush Darjeeling delivers a light golden green infusion.

 

'The flavour of the tea varies each year depending on factors such as the weather, so we never know what it's going to taste like until it arrives with us, which makes it so exciting! We often find notes of mango and strawberry in Badamtam's first flush, which are certainly present but this year's DJ1 has more of a delicate wild strawberry character with green mango.’ 

Ottilie Cunningham, Fortnum's Senior Tea Buyer

 

Turning Leaf Into Tea

After the bud and two leaves are picked, they are laid out to wither overnight. The next day the leaves are rolled, creating a slight twist to the leaves, and they are then laid out to oxidise. It is a highly unique skill to know exactly how long the leaves need to be oxidised, as if they are left too long, the flavour of the tea will change entirely. The magic of the best Darjeeling is the lightness of the oxidation, which results in a delicate peachy liquor.

The leaves are then dried and sorted into different tea grades, with only the very best going into our caddies. While thankfully there is no short supply of many of our famous teas, Darjeeling is unique in that it is grown in rather small quantities. Around 650 million kilos per year of Assam are grown, for example, while less than 5 million kilos of Darjeeling tea were grown last year.

 

How To Brew

Our First Flush represents many things – the emergence of spring, the incredible resilience of the tea leaf and the unique expertise that are needed to grow such a remarkable tea.

While wonderfully unique, treat this beloved brew as you would your other favourite Fortnum’s blends – no milk, brew at 90 degrees and don’t forget to serve with your favourite biscuit alongside.

And if you want to make it even more refreshing, you can leave your brew in the fridge overnight and then top it up with sparkling water!

 

Golden liquor with honeyed aromas and notes of wild strawberry and green mango.

Beautifully buttery and marvelously moreish, our House Lemon Curd Biscuits are made using real lemon curd, which brings a certain sweet-sharp zestiness to them that will pair perfectly with a cup of our First Flush Darjeeling 2026.