Premium Taiwanese Assam

Wow. What a revelation. Muscat complexity and depth like red wine. Steeped western while half asleep this morning; second steep didn’t slow down at all; wish I’d brought the leaves along to work for a third. Looking forward to bowling and sessioning this in a less-groggy state.

Coming back to add: 3rd steep about 24 hours later was cotton candy glorious.

Man, this is a warming, smooth and refined Assam. No rough edges, all flavors ( malt, baked bread, caramel, honey, dried fruit) blend perfectly, a lasting mellow aftertaste.

This is a great example of what a good Assam should be.

I’ve been having this with breakfast the last few days, and cold brewing the spent leaves. It’s a solid unflavored black, but no malt, which for me is strange in an Assam. Despite the lack of maltiness, it has a sweetness and full body that I enjoyed. And the spent leaves make a great iced tea.

I’ve only logged this once? Seriously??? It has turned into a staple. If I don’t have some, its because its out of stock and I will reorder as soon as it shows up again. And when I do, I usually buy 4oz at a time.

This actually says a lot given that I honestly don’t drink a lot of tea. I usually have somewhere between 1 and 3 cups a day depending on how the day is going. Unless i try something I just don’t like, I always just re-steep the same leaves. So it says a lot for me to buy something in quantity.

I am always amazed on how sweet this one seems to me. I mean its honestly not sweet at all, but really gives the impression of something like syrup or brown sugar. It is so warm and comforting and smooth. And it really makes an excellent iced tea as well.

If I could only have one tea to drink for the rest of my life, PTA would be it. And I don’t think I would mourn the loss of all the others.

I seriously haven’t written a note on this one yet? Fail.

Anyway, it’s hands down one of the best Assams I’ve had. The caramelized brown sugar note really does me in, and I cannot pin down the rest of the top of my head other than being fairly fruity, and well, Assam like and sweet like dark chocolate or cocoa nibs. I feel like I have to check my bloodsugar with it. It does have the rounded raisin-malt taste of a good Assam, but it barely becomes astringent keeps a unique sweetness that few teas have. Now, the tea can become bitter or astringent if I mess around to much, but for the most part, it’s a forgiving tea with less leaves. It’s been my go to breakfast tea so far. Deserves the praise indeed.

I think this teas covered in detail, but since I have a decent amount of it, I’ll probably write about it pretty often. I’ve stayed towards a western style in a french press as of late, but even then, I easily get 4-6 cups out of it. Very, very good. I do like the Wild Mountain a little more, but I drink this one more often. I am excited to see how the Guan Yin turns out when people write about it. It’s a shame I’m over budget for tea.

Fantastic Assam. I got a package from Whispering Pines today. I tried the new ones that I’ve never had before, and this one was today’s favorite. Loved their Jin Guan Yin Black too (I’ll write about that soon). I may add some thoughts as I work through my ounce of it later on but I think Tea-sipper gave a fantastic review on it so that’s all I’m going to say for now. ^^

This was kindly sent as a sample in my recent order. I don’t think I’m ever going to be an Assam convert — honestly, I guess I LIKE a bit of bitterness and heft in my black tea — but this was very smooth and seemed (in my very non-expert opinion) like a nicely-done Assam.

Brenden over at WP teas saw me mention Butiki’s PTA recently and told me Whispering Pines was now selling PTA!! Somehow I didn’t know this very important fact? I was ecstatic. Then Brenden sent over a sample. Even more ecstatic. THANKS VERY MUCH! PTA was one of Butiki’s glowing jewels (heck that was most of their teas, but definitely PTA). Premium Taiwanese Assam is a very unique tea and when Butiki closed, I wasn’t sure any other shop would ever carry it. I thought it would be lost forever.
I’m happy to report, this tea is in fact, even crazily similar to those harvests from a few years back now! That alone is amazing: similar harvests. On appearance, I compared this PTA to the older Butiki leaves, side by side, and they look exactly the same: color, length, width. Amazing again. Long, dusty, twisty, black leaves with the sweetest scent. The flavor simply can’t be compared to any other tea. How is a tea leaf so sweet? It’s like caramelized strawberry, with hints of grape, a maltiness, brown sugar. The brew is a light mahogany color. The first steep has the most distinct flavors, the second and third steep lose a little bit in the flavor strength, but still very delicious (I think this was because I was delicate with the parameters – I think with the Butiki if I steeped too hot or too long, the flavor would be mostly oaky… so it’s all in the delicate parameters.) The third steep seems to take on a cantaloupe note, while all three steeps have a syrupy mouthfeel. The closest tea I could think of to this would be a Ruby, but even that is entirely different from this tea. This is an essential cupboard tea for me. I’m so grateful that there is a source for this tea again! Thanks to whomever grows this lovely tea, and thanks so much for finding it, Brenden!
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep
Steep #3 // 8 minutes after boiling // 3 min

Also, I can attest from my Butiki leaves of PTA that this tea ages fairly well over the years. It might lose a little flavor from the fresh tea, but certainly not as much as most teas can lose flavor. (Yes, I had to hoard the PTA when Butiki closed, but not so much now with Whispering Pines carrying it!)

This tea needs no explanation from me. Sorry if that’s what you’re looking for. Exceptional for the price.

Thank you for the sample, Brenden.

The first steeping of this tea was fantastic. Thick liquor, a tad bit sweet, solid black tea flavor, some dried fruit flavor, and a gentle warm spice.