Coconut Assam

My grocery store recently revamped their tea section and part of that revamping including selling new vendors, Zhi Tea being one of them. I was looking to see if I could find one of the yummy-sounding unflavored teas Zhi offers but it looks like my grocery store is just offering a selection of their flavored blends. Somehow, I will manage to cope. Coconut will help in the coping process.

I’m a bit mixed on this tea. First off, it smells awesome. Honest-to-goodness coconut with a touch of bakey. The steeping tea smells even better than the dry leaves – musty/sweet coconut. It makes my mouth water. Though after smelling the steeping leaves, going back to smell the dry leaves makes me notice something unpleasant in the smell, something almost fake or plastic. Maybe it is the coconut flavoring or maybe I’m smelling the packaging. I’m going to ignore it for now and just smell the steeping tea.

Once I get the tea into my cup, the coconut smell is milder than it was in the steeping leaves, but it’s still quite nice. I do so love coconut. (Though I rarely eat it because I can’t get behind the texture. Yuck.) Still, quite lovely. But it’s the taste of this tea that has me a little torn.

First off, let me explain. I used to log every single cup of tea that I drank. I can be a little too structured with things like that. But then Steepster slowed down to a snail’s pace and logging was too frustrating so I went away for a while (all or nothing, you know). Now I’m trying a little moderation – logging teas to review them but not being obsessive about it. So this is not the first time I’ve had this cup since I purchased it, it’s just the first time I’m posting (and being coherent) with my thoughts on it.

The first time I had this, it was more Assam with a coconut aftertaste. The Assam was nice – honeyed, bakey, a little starchy – but the coconut felt a bit lacking. This time, however, there is coconut all through the sip, from beginning to end. Good, strong, lovely coconut. I can taste the Assam underneath the coconut, but it doesn’t seem as nice as before. Starchy, malty and maybe slightly sweet. But sometimes I also get flashes of… watery. And strong prickles of astringency that weren’t there before. And the honeyed note is all but gone, replace (or overwhelmed) by a faint tartness that doesn’t quite enter into Bitter-land but definitely has been planning a trip there.

So it seems like my choices for this tea are either 1) delicious, smooth and sweet Assam with a disappointingly faint aftertaste of coconut or 2) strong, full coconut flavor with a rough and unpleasant Assam. I’m not sure how one tea gives two such different cups when brewed the same way both times. Ideally, I’d like the sweet and smooth Assam note to be coupled with a beginning-to-end coconut note. Maybe the third time will be the charm. Or else my next cup will be faint coconut aftertaste coupled with a rough and watery Assam.

So see? Torn. It’s a bit too roulette wheel for my tastes but the potential for awesomeness is there. But this is either inconsistent or picky. And since both attributes make me grumpy when I find them in tea, I suppose I’ll be sticking to SerendipiTEA’s Burroughs’ Brew for my coconut tea cravings.

Tea of the morning….

I recently ordered from Zhi to stock up on Gong Fu Black, and this was a 20 g free sample. Smell is of coconut, and the steeped tea is rather smooth, slightly malty, lightly coconutty. There is a good balance between the base and flavor. Even though this one is also slightly buttery, it is much more subtle in flavor than something like David’s Buttered Rum. I would call it more sophisticated. I do think this will be up for condsideration the next time I order at Zhi, but it is not the kind of tea you plan an order around, if that makes sense.

24 oz teapot, 6 actual tsp tea, freshly boiled water, 3 minutes. Lightly sweetened. Second steep at 5 minutes was just as good as the first.

Grabbed a small package of this while visiting relatives in Texas – haven’t seen it anywhere around home.

I really, really want to like coconut tea. I love the smell of them but it always seems like once they are brewed they remind me of suntan lotion.

This doesn’t remind me as much of it. But I still won’t be making it part of my normal stock. Of the coconut teas I have tried, this is probably one of the better. The coconut tastes less fake than others and it has more coconut taste than others as well. The coconut didn’t overwhelm the tea but at the same time I’m not sure I could tell you much about the tea itself.

Yum. Very, very strong coconut aroma – I can smell it in my work locker as soon as I open the door! The scent backs off a little once you brew it, but still pretty powerful. It’s ok because I love the way coconut smells. The flavor is sweet, nutty and buttery. Actual piece of coconut in the tea impart a slightly slippery feel… I hesitate to say ‘greasy’ because it sounds negative, but the oils in the coconut bits do come out after a hot steeping. I could see some people put off by it but it doesn’t bother me.

Tasty, and the coconut is very well paired with the Assam black tea, but still makes me feel somewhat like I’m covering up the natural tea flavors with fruity additions. I’ve heard it’s amazing with coconut milk which I can readily imagine. I think I would best enjoy this tea brewed very strong, with some coconut milk added, to drink on the go. Not something I would meditate over in the morning.

Dry leaves have strong coconut aroma that fades when brewed. Brewed flavor is malty and roasted, reminiscent of a whole grain breakfast cereal. A robust, uncomplicated taste with a cutting astringency .