Mangalam Estate FTGFOP1 Cl. (TA57)

This was really, really boring. My husband said “tasteless”. I brewed it at 2 tsp/cup and still not good. I usually drink more of the top tier when it comes to single estate assams and while I wasn’t expecting it to live up to that, I was expecting it to still have good flavor. For a similar price, I think the Upton East Frisian BOP is a much better value. May not be single estate but I don’t want to just pay for a name. Ended up throwing out the tin.

The leaves of this tea are black with golden tips. They expand to reveal pretty-decent quality leaves, although I’m honestly not very impressed given the supposed FTGFOP1 rating.

The liquor is a red-gold color. I was quite surprised to see how orange it was. The color is somewhat in between what I’d expect from an Assam and a Darjeeling. (This would turn out to be the case in terms of flavor, as well.)

The leaves have a fresh, malty, complex scent, but the scent becomes a bit simpler and heartier in the liquor.

The tea has mild to moderate body and mild to moderate astringency. The astringency is less than I would expect for an Assam.

The flavor profile on the first steep is primarily malty with some soy-like flavors. It’s relatively hearty, but there’s also a difficult-to-capture complexity.

For the second steep, I reduced the volume of water to 6 ounces from 8 and steeped for four minutes. I was very surprised. I much preferred this steep. It has a much more Darjeeling-like taste. There’s still some maltiness and body, but now it’s more floral and slightly sweet.

This is a thoroughly decent tea, but I don’t think it quite captures the strengths of an Assam (ie strength) or of a Darjeeling (floral complexity). I suspect the flavor is similar to a second-flush Darjeeling, although my experience with Darjeelings is primarily first-flush since I prefer light, vegetal, floral, fruity teas with minimal astringency. For the price, I wouldn’t buy this tea again, but it’s not bad at all.