64

Bought this “Halmari Full Leaf Assam” around Halloween 2020, so I guess it is from the 2019 harvest, which must be sold out since it’s been delisted from Harney’s site. I’ve brewed this 4 or 5 times, Western, and agree with tea-sipper’s review. Good strong malty-caramel Assam flavor on the top and back of my tongue, but WAY too astringent for my likes. It lingers pleasantly in the mouth after the briskness has subsided. Harney’s CTC Assam is far smoother and less than 1/3 the price. Still, I’ll be swilling it down on bleary-eyed, early mornings. If you love brisk and care not about cost, this might be the tea for you! Some day I’ll try cold-brewing this, and will also play around with using less leaf or shorter steeps.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec 2 g 8 OZ / 236 ML
White Antlers

I highly recommend harney’s Mokalbari Golden Assam. No astringency and when I drink it early in the morning, sometimes I can hear angels sing.

TeaEarleGreyHot

That’s a glowing endorsement, W.A. Singing angels would be quite an experience, though with my luck they might turn out to be frolicking rodents in the attic…. Nevertheless I’m going to order some and give it a sip! Eager to see how it compares to the Brandy Oolong Assamic (Taiwan origin) from Tealyra, which itself can induce frolic, so much do I like it! Thank you for the (golden) tip.

White Antlers

Hey TEGH! if you send me a message and give me your address, it would be my pleasure to send you some. Even if you don’t hear heavenly beings upon sipping, a sample will let you see if you like before you buy.

TeaEarleGreyHot

Well golley, W.A., thank you for the kind offer. As it happens, I had a handful of items in my Harney cart and I just tossed in a tin of the MGA and was delighted to find an unexpected $10 “points” discount when checking out, so the whole shebang didn’t sting at all. I’ll let ya know when it arrives and we can listen for angels simultaneously! Generosity is nice though, and if I’ve posted something you’d like to try, I’ll be happy to send a sample, especially if it helps you avoid a giant shipping charge!

White Antlers

Thanks for your offer, TEGH. If you read my bio, I am doing my Swedish Death Purge. I don’t review or swap, but I do give tea away so if you would ever like a surprise parcel, send a message. Several folks here will vouch for my integrity and sanity. : )

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White Antlers

I highly recommend harney’s Mokalbari Golden Assam. No astringency and when I drink it early in the morning, sometimes I can hear angels sing.

TeaEarleGreyHot

That’s a glowing endorsement, W.A. Singing angels would be quite an experience, though with my luck they might turn out to be frolicking rodents in the attic…. Nevertheless I’m going to order some and give it a sip! Eager to see how it compares to the Brandy Oolong Assamic (Taiwan origin) from Tealyra, which itself can induce frolic, so much do I like it! Thank you for the (golden) tip.

White Antlers

Hey TEGH! if you send me a message and give me your address, it would be my pleasure to send you some. Even if you don’t hear heavenly beings upon sipping, a sample will let you see if you like before you buy.

TeaEarleGreyHot

Well golley, W.A., thank you for the kind offer. As it happens, I had a handful of items in my Harney cart and I just tossed in a tin of the MGA and was delighted to find an unexpected $10 “points” discount when checking out, so the whole shebang didn’t sting at all. I’ll let ya know when it arrives and we can listen for angels simultaneously! Generosity is nice though, and if I’ve posted something you’d like to try, I’ll be happy to send a sample, especially if it helps you avoid a giant shipping charge!

White Antlers

Thanks for your offer, TEGH. If you read my bio, I am doing my Swedish Death Purge. I don’t review or swap, but I do give tea away so if you would ever like a surprise parcel, send a message. Several folks here will vouch for my integrity and sanity. : )

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

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Bio

Life is too short to drink bad tea!
Pan-American: Left-coast reared (on Bigelow’s Constant Comment and Twinings’ Earl Grey) and right-coast educated, I’ve used this moniker & Email since the glory days of AOL in the 90’s, reflecting two of my lifelong loves—tea and ‘Trek.

Now a midwestern molecular biologist (right down to the stereotypical Hawaiian shirts), I’m finally broadening the scope of my sippage and getting into all sorts of Assamicas, from mainstream Assam CTCs to Taiwan blacks & TRES varietals, to varied Pu’erhs. With some other stuff tossed in for fun. I enjoy reading other folks’ tasting notes (thank you). I’ve lurked here from time to time and am now adding a few notes of my own to better appreciate the experience. Note that my sense of taste varies from the typical, for example I find stevia to be unsweet and bitter. My dislike of rooibos may be similarly rooted in genetics, which impacts perceptions of many flavors, from asparagus to stevia to cilantro.

I don’t work for a tea vendor, and I’m not a professional tea sommelier. And I don’t taste every nuance, hint of flavor or note of aroma, nor am I trained to describe those that I do detect. But I taste enough to have opinions, and do my best to be descriptive. Sensory preferences can shift from day to day and person to person, so numerical ratings are kinda bogus, especially between and among various people. But there are individual trends, and I try to reflect that. As reference points for my ratings, I give Lipton Black Tea bags “orange pekoe and pekoe, cut black” a score of 65 because it is widely available and profoundly consistent. I view it as just okay. I would give plain, hot, quality spring water a rating of 25, and I buy Crystal Geyser brand for brewing because my local well water is stinky and discolored, and my filtration & softening system leaves it salty and unpleasant. Tea should make the commercial Spring Water better, not worse, so a rating below 25 speaks for itself.

I am conversationally friendly but absolutely not here looking for dates or money, nor to sell anything. If I’ve started to follow you, I don’t mean to be creepy, it only means you posted something I liked reading, or it was about an interesting tea or event. And I’ve recently discovered that the Steepster system only notifies me of new posts written by people I follow. If you follow me, I won’t assume anything. If I do not follow you, it isn’t a snub—you’re still a good human being!
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Avatar:. Arrival in Athens, Greece, on vacation.

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