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"Confession time! At last month's gut-busting Festival of Food, there was one vendor I visited twice, and that was Happy Earth Tea, the thoughtful infusions of owner/operator Niraj Lama helping to both warm and soothe on a long, brisk night of indulgenceRead now
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The song of Lapsang Souchong
Read nowAs a former journalist I’ve been obsessed lately with the unfolding government shutdown drama. I refresh my NYT app nearly every half hour for updates on the issue as if tracking score as a sports fan would.
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Durga Puja Discount
Read nowTake 15% off on all our teas with code "FESTIVAL15" on checkout. This is to join in the festivities that have begun back back in India. The celebrations are centered around Goddess Durga, a powerful female figure in Hindu...
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Summer Travels II: A bitter brew in Darjeeling
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The Buddhist flags that flutter over Darjeeling hills remind you that both your joys and sorrows are fleeting. Nothing stays. So resist attachments - the root of all suffering.
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Summer Travels I: In Lipton's Hometown
Gorbals, my friend from Glasgow, pointed out is a rough part of the city. I was very surprised to hear that. Because 165 year ago Thomas Lipton was born in those very slums and it seems relatively, not much had changed.Read now -
Darjeeling as Bulgari perfume
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Some time ago, when we stumbled upon the pleasures of cold brew Darjeeling, my wife expressed a fancy for bottling Darjeeling perfume. The leaves of the first flush tea, after a cold brew, smelled so exquisite that had we the means, we’d have right away underwritten efforts to realize my lady’s dream.
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Pico Iyer and Darjeeling
Read nowOne of my favorite writers talking about Darjeeling?! I am glad that Pico Iyer has Darjeeling to assist him at his writing desk. Hopefully, he was not paid to say it. Would Pico do that? A guy who lived for...
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Darjeeling Second Flush 2013, Preview
Read nowWe have just finished sampling Darjeeling Second Flush 2013. My palate is singing and my heart is full. What a blessing it is to be able to partake of some of the earth’s best gifts!
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Puttabong in the rain
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Woke up to a wet and misty morning here in Rochester, NY. As I looked outside, in a moment I was transported back to the Darjeeling hills where half the year it is wet and misty. Saw the rhododendron in our neighbor's garden and that reminded me even more of Darjeeling. During spring the upper reaches of the hills are alive with gurans - as rhododendrons are called locally. It is a sight that will cheer even the most disconsolate heart.