Until last night, I had forgotten just how many samples of tea from Harney & Sons I had lying around the house. I knew that I had several, I just didn’t realize how many. I also somehow acquired more samples of this tea than any other. I made it my breakfast tea this morning.
I brewed this tea in sachet form. Again, I’m guessing that there was about one teaspoon of tea in there. I brewed this tea for 5 minutes in 8 ounces of 212 F water. I did not attempt additional infusions.
After infusion, the liquor showed a relatively dark amber in the cup. It was neither as dark nor as murky as some Assam teas I have tried in the past. On the nose, I picked up pleasant aromas of cream, roasted nuts, malt, leather, caramel, toffee, and molasses. In the mouth, I noted delicate notes of cream, roasted nuts, toast, leather, caramel, toffee, molasses, malt, and cocoa. The finish seemed to emphasize toast, cream, roasted nut, and caramel notes, though I also noted a slight astringency that became pronounced on the back of the throat.
I’m kind of surprised, but I really liked this Assam more than expected. It is a very basic tea, but it is also not nearly as harsh as some of the other Assam teas I have tried. For me, Assam is one of those things that I really enjoy, but I have to be in the mood for it. Sometimes it’s a little sharp and sometimes it’s a little bland. This tea falls between those two extremes. I found it very approachable.
Flavors: Caramel, Cocoa, Cream, Leather, Malt, Molasses, Roasted Nuts, Toast, Toffee
