National, March 2026: There is a moment in early spring, brief and unrepeatable, when the
Makaibari tea garden stirs back to life. The winter cold lifts from the Darjeeling hills. The soil tended without chemicals or synthetic fertilisers for over four decades, exhales. And from the tips of bushes that have rested since November, the first tender shoots appear: two leaves and a bud, carrying within them the concentrated character of an entire dormant season.
That moment arrives this week. The Makaibari First Flush 2026 has been plucked, processed, and will be available for the first time. First Flush 2026 launches on 28th March 2026
This year’s harvest is exceptional. The winter was long and cold across the Darjeeling hills, and the garden rested deeply. When the flush came, it came with a clarity and force that our tasters noted immediately. The liquor is bright gold with unusual luminosity. The aroma is lifted and floral — peach-forward, with a green freshness underneath. On the palate: white peach, dried apricot, and the estate’s signature muscatel character, lighter and more precise than in recent years. The finish is long and entirely without astringency.
T H E 2 0 2 6 H A R V E S T
The 2026 First Flush benefits from conditions that rarely align so favourably. Rainfall in the pre-dormancy months of late 2025 was well-distributed, allowing the bushes to enter winter with strong root reserves. The cold season was prolonged, extending the rest period by nearly two weeks beyond the estate’s recent average. When temperatures rose in early March, the flush was swift, dense, and characteristically intense.
Tasting notes from the estate describe a cup of notable brightness — pale gold verging on amber at the edges, with an aroma that opens immediately on pouring. The muscatel character, the hallmark of fine Darjeeling and particularly of Makaibari, is present from the first sip but wears it lightly: not heavy or overripe, as in some years, but clean and precise, underpinned by the floral register that distinguishes First Flush from all subsequent harvests.
Brewing recommendation: 2.5g per 200ml, water at 85 degrees Celsius, steeped for three minutes. No milk. The tea is complete as it is.
The 2026 First Flush is available now in limited allocation through www.makaibari.in and select airport stores.
