I get this tea (though the description calls it bold). The leaves look like that assam that so many love… the Premium Taiwanese Assam from Butiki! The leaves are very long and big like those. So not like a tiny leaf astringent bold and brassy assam. Also, there is a ton of marshmallow aroma bursting out of the bag! Just like how Butiki’s blend paired with caramel and vanilla, Frank decided to blend this one with marshmallow. I think it works. The flavor is more subtle in the light brown brew than is in the scent coming from the bag, but I kind of expected less flavor. The flavor is light but PTA light. I think it naturally tastes like caramel and vanilla. When cooled, it kind of starts tasting like the bland wet cardboard black tea base that I try to avoid from 52Teas other blends, but it’s definitely an improvement on that base. I wish there was more info on the base though (Is this a Taiwanese or Indian Assam?). Maybe others would like this blend if they understood the base tea.
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // 10 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 2 min
Also, I KNEW the old zoomdweebies.com tea archive would disappear! So much info lost…but if Steepster disappears, then it would be REALLY sad… for ALL the teas. Steepster is kind of like a tea dictionary or something now.
Oooo this sounds so good! :)