Assam #1

_{Backlogging and based entirely on my notes}

Experience buying from The Puritea http://steepster.com/places/2885-thepuritea-online-los-angeles-california

Date of Purchase/Amount of Leaf/Date of Steeping: Bought during their Black Friday sale near the end of 2011; 3 – 4 TSP sample; steeped once on 1-29-2012.

Appearance and Aroma of dry leaf: No discernible aroma; standard look for an Assam.

Brewing guidelines: < No information noted on teapot used >; stevia added; my standard Chinese red tea steeping times and temperatures; four steepings.

Color and Aroma of tea liquor: Malty aroma, dark amber color.

Flavor of tea liquor (by steeping):
1st: sweet, malty flavor
2nd: good
3rd: still good
4th: decent, but not enough to attempt a 5th

Appearance and aroma of wet leaf: Standard mid-grade CTC leaf; malty.

Value: $2 for the sample (no more than 4 TSP): I find that to be very pricy for a small sample; otherwise it’s $12 / 4 OZ.

Overall: I liked it, my wife liked it: a good Assam. As I mention in my review of The Puritea, I was hoping for more Tea in this sample. I don’t think it’s likely I will buy this tea from them again, as there are plenty of Assams that are higher in quality and priced at least as good.

Although, I only sampled this black I could tell that it would hold up to milk and sugar very well just from smelling the dry leaf. I enjoyed this and it wasn’t even a fancy tea. Goes to show it doesn’t need to be fancy to be tasty if you just find the right one. I found this to be smooth, slightly robust, and a bit of a mouthful in the best way possible.

Assams are all alike, right? Wrong! At least, that’s what my humans think: http://is.gd/fn87j

Sharp, strong and full of that fat, heavy bass we all want in an Assam. A hearty singular malt is well ornamented with flavors of brown sugar, spices and metal. Big and bestial like a bronze war elephant.

I had this again for only the second time since receiving it. The first time around – which was for review purposes – I thought it was good, but not earth-shattering. The second time was a peculiar experience. It tasted lightly sweet on the finish like a good Keemun, and I didn’t have any of the initial bitterness like the first time. Not sure what I did differently with Round 2, but I’ll take it.

First Review Here:

http://www.teaviews.com/2010/10/22/review-thepuritea-assam-1/

Steeped too long (8 min). Wore out taste buds, but nice taste.