Tea of the morning, and the final sample from my last Butiki order. I came close to buying a whole bag of this, but in the end I couldn’t decide between this and Dinjoye Estate. I’ve tried a sample of the Dinjoye before, so I figured I’d also try a sample of this and then decide in time for my next order. I love assam, so I fear it may not be that simple. Perhaps both are required.
Anyway, the tea. I followed the recommended parameters and gave this 3.5 minutes in boiling water. It’s delicious – absolutely all of the things I love about assam in one cup! It’s very malty, so much so that it’s almost thick tasting and sort of chewy. The initial sip is quite savoury, but a strong underlying sweetness emerges in the aftertaste. It’s very, very smooth, with not a hint of astringency. It’s also strong in flavour — even with milk this was an excellent wake up kick! There are tiny, tiny hints of cocoa and bread, but they’re not prominent. That’s fine with me, though, because there are other teas that have those characteristics in spades if that’s what I’m looking for. I love this one for it’s wonderful sweet, strong, overwhelming maltiness. I can see it being a definite purchase.
