80

For the past week I have been focusing on sipping down teas of which I had purchased a larger amount. I think that will remain my focus throughout February, perhaps March as well. I bought an ounce of this tea either late last spring or early last summer, put it in storage, and promptly forgot about it. I think my original intention was to spend the fall focusing on Assams, but I ended up changing plans by August. That led to me just getting around to this one late last week. I found it to be a very smooth, mild Assam. Its mellow character may have been a result of the tea fading in storage, or it could have just been the natural character of the tea. I’m honestly not sure which was the case.

I prepared this tea using a simple one step Western infusion process. Though Simpson & Vail recommended a steep time of 3 minutes, I prefer my Assam strong, so I steeped a teaspoon of loose leaves in 212 F water for a full 5 minutes.

After infusion, the dark copper tea liquor produced mild aromas of malt, toast, straw, cream, and roasted nuts. In the mouth, I picked up a delicate mix of toast, cream, orange, malt, cocoa, straw, leather, nutmeg, and roasted almonds. The finish was smooth and rich, offering lingering impressions of malt, nutmeg, and roasted almonds.

While this was not the most robustly flavorful Assam I have ever tried, I found its layering of flavors and rich malty character rewarding. I have noticed that the other organic Assams I have tried from Simpson & Vail have tended to be mild in both aroma and flavor, so I am not entirely certain the tea had faded all that much, though that remains a possibility. As is, I would not hesitate to recommend this tea to anyone looking for an approachable, basic, all-purpose Assam.

Flavors: Almond, Cocoa, Cream, Leather, Malt, Nutmeg, Orange, Straw, Toast

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Fjellrev

Ooh, those are some seriously hardcore notes.

eastkyteaguy

Fjellrev, they don’t really come across in such a straight-forward manner though. That was what I found so perplexing. There was a big swell of malt, almond, and nutmeg that coated my mouth once I swallowed, but otherwise, the actual flavor notes in the mouth were very mellow. I had to swirl and swish the liquor across my palate a couple times before I got any kind of idea of what was going on with this tea. I did find it to be a pleasant tea though. It reminded me a little bit of the 2016 Belseri Estate Organic Assam from Simpson & Vail, but this one was not as chocolaty and had a few more quirks.

Fjellrev

Either way, that sounds like a unique, pleasant experience! Quirky Assams are the bomb.

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Fjellrev

Ooh, those are some seriously hardcore notes.

eastkyteaguy

Fjellrev, they don’t really come across in such a straight-forward manner though. That was what I found so perplexing. There was a big swell of malt, almond, and nutmeg that coated my mouth once I swallowed, but otherwise, the actual flavor notes in the mouth were very mellow. I had to swirl and swish the liquor across my palate a couple times before I got any kind of idea of what was going on with this tea. I did find it to be a pleasant tea though. It reminded me a little bit of the 2016 Belseri Estate Organic Assam from Simpson & Vail, but this one was not as chocolaty and had a few more quirks.

Fjellrev

Either way, that sounds like a unique, pleasant experience! Quirky Assams are the bomb.

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Bio

My grading criteria for tea is as follows:

90-100: Exceptional. I love this stuff. If I can get it, I will drink it pretty much every day.

80-89: Very good. I really like this stuff and wouldn’t mind keeping it around for regular consumption.

70-79: Good. I like this stuff, but may or may not reach for it regularly.

60-69: Solid. I rather like this stuff and think it’s a little bit better-than-average. I’ll drink it with no complaints, but am more likely to reach for something I find more enjoyable than revisit it with regularity.

50-59: Average. I find this stuff to be more or less okay, but it is highly doubtful that I will revisit it in the near future if at all.

40-49: A little below average. I don’t really care for this tea and likely won’t have it again.

39 and lower: Varying degrees of yucky.

Don’t be surprised if my average scores are a bit on the high side because I tend to know what I like and what I dislike and will steer clear of teas I am likely to find unappealing.

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