Nahorhabi Full-Leaf Assam

T&C TTB Tea # 11 – Backlog May 25

Brewed this up for breakfast, added milk. It stood up nicely!

Very dark and bold, which I love. Somewhat malty. Slightly astringent but I may have oversteeped because I didn’t think to check the steeping recommendations ahead of time.

It was a good ‘first thing in the morning’ tea.
I didn’t really get any specific flavours out of it, I guess a straight black tea really has to slap me in the face with taste if you want me to notice anything spectacular.

I did enjoy my cup. It’s probably what I’d expect an Assam to be and I’d like to try some more from Harney at some point! I’m realizing their straight teas are pretty darn good.

boychik sent this one my way and i’m not yet sure how i feel about it. I think this is on the upside of tasty, though there’s a note there that i don’t like as much. i, sadly had this really early this morning and don’t recall much beyond that :) appreicate the share though boychik as it’s given me more to think about in terms of H&S blacks.

I received a sample of this from Nicole this weekend and this tea barely survived long enough for me to write about it. I was asking her about her favorite Assam’s and she mentioned this tea.

This is malty sweet deliciousness in a cup. There is a nice fruity finish to this one. I have been really enjoying this one at work. It is also one I was able to resteep quite a bit. The website says there are only 12 tins left and I am now holding quite a long list of Harney teas I would like to purchase. Maybe maybe I can justify it now? Thank you for sharing this one with me Nicole.

I finished off my sample of this tea today and it tasted so good that I thought I’d order more….AND THERE AIN’T NO MORE!! And it was SO good that I drank it super fast and didn’t savor the flavor and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!

(i think this is my best review ever. What a whiner i am.)

Breakfast tea of the day, courtesy boychik! Touched because apparently it may not get restocked at all this year, but she still sent me some anyway (she even weighed the bag for me!). People are wonderful.

This is rather unlike any other Assam I’ve had. The steeping aroma smells like rum or perhaps brandy to me, or like hot raisins that have been plumped with said spirits and burst with steam and sticky sugar-liquor. There is the deep, earthy, rasping wood that borders on too bitter that I associate with Indian teas (others describe it as that “powdery” mouth-drying astringency) and love (that kind of bitterness I enjoy!). It kind of evokes bittersweet chocolate. I can see how this would be a champ at taking milk and/or sugar, but I’m loving it plain right now. I like how deep and complex and serious it is. I’m tempted to say it’s one of my favorite Assams now…it has the murky depth I love in my favorite Capital Tea Ltd. Assams, less sweetness (which to me is not a bad thing, especially in the morning). I like it more than many of the Steepster faves I tried throughout last year like Tiger Assam and SST 49. The flavors are so deep but it manages to stay drinkable (for me, I couldn’t detect/appreciate the ones in Tiger Assam, too faint and smoothed out to me, and SST 49 doesn’t achieve enough complexity before it edges into undrinkably strong and unpleasant territory). And Nicole’s right; this is one of the few teas I’ve had where the aspect of bitter tang from ferment-y fizzy liquor is so strong I feel vaguely like I’m drinking beer for breakfast. Might sound gross or off-putting to some but I find it delicious.

Now I am pining for more much like boychik. This is going on my “stock this if you ever get a chance” list. I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who prefers the relative softness and sweetness of Chinese black teas over the briskness and woody astringency of Indian or Ceylon legacy teas, but if you like the latter but find many lack complexity or feel a little wan, disappointingly thin, this is one to try!