Here’s another one from the backlog, though this one is more recent. I finished a sample pouch of this tea a little over a week ago and forgot to promptly post a review here. Judging from the product description on What-Cha’s website, this was a favorite of the Assam teas they have sourced recently. Personally, I found it to be a very solid, appealing tea, though I am still not entirely certain I would place it alongside some of my favorite Assam teas.
I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped about 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any subsequent infusions.
Prior to infusion, the loose leaf material emitted pleasantly malty, woody aromas. After infusion, I noted scents of malt, wood, raisin, caramel, and molasses. In the mouth, the liquor presented a nice, mellow mix of malt, cream, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, leather, raisin, black walnut, roasted chestnut, brown toast, and wood notes accompanying a moderate astringency that became somewhat more pronounced on the finish. Oh, and speaking of the finish, I mostly noted lingering touches of wood, cream, and malt in the mouth.
In a lot of ways, I found this to be a rather typical clonal Assam black tea. I did not notice anything odd or remotely out of place. Compared to some of What-Cha’s other Assam offerings, I think I prefer the teas from Prithvi for their full, rich, almost decadent maltiness and the tea recently sourced from Kanoka for its quirkiness. Still, this was a very nice example of a proper Assam black tea. I could see it making a rock solid daily drinker and/or a great introduction to quality Assam teas.
Flavors: Astringent, Brown Sugar, Brown Toast, Caramel, Chestnut, Cream, Leather, Malt, Molasses, Raisins, Walnut, Wood
