Malty Assam

This is a delightful Assam. Malty is right! I don’t think I’ve tasted a maltier tea. It is strong and bold with an undertone of sweet caramel notes. There is a note of bitter towards the middle of the sip – not one of those “I oversteeped the Assam” kind of bitter tastes, but more of a “hint of bitterness that is here to cut through some of the heavier notes of this tea and make things interesting” kind of bitterness that is ever so slight.

Teasnob mentioned a “salty” note to this tea, and I am tasting that too. I didn’t get it in the first couple of sips, but, now that I’m about a 1/4th of the way through this cup the salty tone is presenting itself. It’s a very interesting quality to this tea that I don’t think I’ve really ever experienced before – I like it!

This was my breakfast tea today. Good and strong malty deliciousness, turning into yummy caramel. A little bitterness as it cooled. I drank it plain, then tried adding cream, which was lovely. A second steep was good too. I don’t think this is a complex tea, but it does malt/caramel/bitter very nicely.

Actually, I think Assam may provide the slurp factor in Andrews and Dunham’s Caravan. I acquired this Assam in an attempt to prevent a broken heart when I run out of A&D. I mixed a little with my cover version of Caravan this evening. Mmm, not bad.

Also, this was my first tin from The Tao of Tea. I didn’t realize their tins were so pretty! They have a little knob on the inner lid. So nice!

★★★☆☆

Flavor Notes:
•Malty
•Sweet
•Astringent (tangy)

The brew smells malty and sweet. There are sweet roasted undertones to the smell.

The tea has lightly roasted overtones. You can almost taste the ceder smoke in the tea. There are malty undertones, but not as intense as the smell initially suggested. It is also not as sweet as the smell initially suggested. The tea in fact has a little bit of a kick to it. It is not a bitter taste, but more like a hint of salt behind each sip. Sometimes it even reminds me of salted nuts because of the roasted salt flavor.

For the rest of the tasting notes, please check my blog.
http://teasnobbery.com/2010/09/10/tea-review-malty-assam-from-tao-of-tea/

I do tend to brew my Assams rather strong and this one was up to the challenge. Too much leaf in this cup or just enough, there is the line to balance on. I think there was plenty leaf in the cup and it makes a dark, astringent, but not bitter, brew. I may have drowned all the maltyness out by using so much leaf, but hey, a girls gotta wake up in the am. Second steep is just a muted version of the first. Easily drinkable but not memorable.
Thanks to gmathis for sharing!

Unfortunately, I’m two for two on underperforming teas from Tao of Tea. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this malty Assam. It’s extremely drinkable; a little sweet, but the “sweet” is about all I’m getting. I wanted whap-you-in-the-face Assam in the bass notes, not tap-you-politely-on-the-shoulder Assam. If you like your breakfast teas on the gentler side, this may be right up your alley.

Happy New Year, everyone!

This is another sample from cookies. I’ve been curious about Tao of Tea as a company for a while, so thanks to cookies for allowing me to sample some of their black teas! The leaves are fairly intact, and they’re long and thin. Color is extremely dark chocolate, almost black. They smell of sweet, dry hay.

This is definitely a malty, somewhat generic Assam. The malt comprises most of the flavor, but there’s a little touch of dried fruit and caramelized sugar richness. I don’t taste salt as others have mentioned, but there is something very mild that almost reminds me of menthol? But I could be imagining that part. ;) Astringency is mild to medium with no bitterness.

Okay…this one really doesn’t fit the title to me…
It’s kinda malty, like enough to notice. But it’s also super woody. More like woody Assam with a touch of malt.
So yeah…not really my kind of tea. In fact, I might actually like the other one better.
Ahhh hate when titles of teas betray me like this! :(