SPRING PETRICHOR – 50 Gms

There was no word for the way earth smelled when rain fell on it after a long, dry spell until the 1960s. That’s when Isabel Bear scientifically described the aroma and termed it ‘Petrichor’ – ‘Petra’ for Rock and ‘Ichor’ for the blood that flows in the veins of the Gods. Origin of a word, it seems, rarely ever justifies the meaning it contains – sometimes even misleading enough to obscure the poetry behind its choice but not enough to withhold speculation! So, we wonder – if she would have chosen differently if she was, say, an Amazonian botanist with a drinking problem instead of a chemist or maybe a reckless geologist with a penchant for country songs, who believed archeology was the practice of looking for romance in all the wrong places. Personally, we think Petrichor could also be the smell of gratitude, say of finding an oasis after wandering 3 days in maddening desert heat or it could be the aroma of disbelief when one finds a lost civilization, say digging in the backyard for no apparent reason or maybe it’s our own certainty when something in the air says that its about to rain and we stand validated with the presence of something ancient and ancestral about life – Petrichor!

It is more earthy than sweet – with the aroma of dry earth after the first rain, the Spring Petrichor feels dusty – both the dry leaf and the brew have it. Made from the P312 cultivar the Petrichor is a rare expression of Darjeeling’s Spring both in occurrence and flavor. The flavor is deep, ancient and ancestral with the aroma of fresh cut grass and dust. The taste is very reminiscent of ghee or clarified butter – the kind in the sweet Indian desserts – mixed with herbs that feels like a curative ayurvedic potion. Compared to other Spring teas, the taste is uniquely distinctive. The petrichor turns Fruity as it cools down but never loses its earthiness. The fresh cut grass aroma turns slightly floral as it further cools to more honey and saffron notes.