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“Backlog Between this and the Wild Black Yunnan, this sealed it for me that I wasn’t a fan of David’s actual teas (as in, pure teas, whether bought to be enjoyed as such or as the base for flavored...” Read full tasting note
“This was the last tea, in my black tea a day experiment last week. I did take this to work on Friday, and Saturday, and today. I still don’t know what to say about it. It’s really finicky with...” Read full tasting note
“I finally decided to try this after receiving it as a sample with one of my DT orders and reading not so great reviews about it. I steeped it according to directions, 1 teaspoon in 8 ounces of...” Read full tasting note
“I used 1.25 tablespoons of dry leaf for 375ml of water. Far too bitter. This tea likely has to infuse for a shorter amount of time and could maybe use less leaf. Withholding my rating for now.” Read full tasting note
A perfect assam
From the little Banaspaty estate in the Karbi Anglong district of India, this impressive Assam has a naturally sweet and malty body, a full red colour and a complexity that can handle a nice splash of milk. Perfect for breakfast or afternoon tea. (MK Kosher)
Ingredients: Fine black tea from the Banaspaty Estate in Assam, India.
Price: $8.50 per 50g
DavidsTea is a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country, with its first store having opened in 2008.
This morning, courtesy of Natalie & DAVIDsTEA, I brewed Assam Banaspaty Western style: 8 oz / 1 tsp (2.5g) / 208*F / 4-6 min. without sweeteners, milk, or cream.
Leaf: Dark chocolate brown very short leaves & CTC granules
Fragrance: Mild Assam
Liquor: Clear dark copper
Aroma: Very mild
Flavor: Moderately malty
4-min.: Medium-bodied, I then let it steep an additional min. There was no hint bitterness or astringency
5-min.: A smooth, moderately full-bodied malty tea. There was no bitterness and just a slight hint of astringency. I considered steeping an additional minute. But I had the sense that if I did, it might become obviously astringent. Towards the bottom of the cup, the astringency was more apparent in the middle of my tongue.
Re-Steeping:
6-min: Medium bodied & smooth w/no bitterness or astringency.
Impression: A pleasant Assam with some astringency.
Thanks to Natalie & DAVIDsTEA for their gracious sample of this Assam tea.
Method:
RO water re-mineralized with an Aptera filter http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39532-puregen-aptera-alkamag-water-filter
http://steepster.com/teaware/teavana/39311-perfect-tea-spoon
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale
Brewed western-style conveniently in a tea mug with a brew basket http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/29177-finum-brewing-basket.
http://steepster.com/teas/davidstea/36677-thermometer-and-timer
Flavors: Malt
I’m in the middle of roasting a few bulbs of garlic, and even still the scent of this tea comes through well. Admittedly, I meant to brew it for a slightly shorter length of time than I ended up doing, but still within the recommended steep time. It tastes a little oversteeped, and I’d like to see what it would be like if done at 3 or 4 minutes rather than 6.
Trying to determine what exactly characterizes an Assam tea, having not much experience in that tea category. This is not impressive. I would not buy this again. Hopefully, I will find the definitive Assam that explains why people are such fans of it.
I should probably preface this by saying I’ve never had assam by itself before. Based on this sample I’m not in love with it, but it’s not bad. I probably wouldn’t buy it and make it myself, but if it was put in front of me I’d drink it.
It starts out mellow and slightly sweet and then has a bitter edge toward the end. Bitterness generally turns me off tea, but it’s not strong enough for me to truly dislike it.
This tea introduced me to the world of straight teas. I bought it in David’s Tea’s “Straight Tea Discovery Kit”. It is a delicious black tea with a smooth taste. I like it either as a breakfast tea, black, or as a tea latte, with some agave nectar and steamed milk.
