This bright, brisk and elegant tea was my morning cup today. It is a really beautiful tea to look at with a generous scattering of golden cooper downy tips among its dark brown leaves. The tea itself has a nice deep orange red colour after 1tsp was left for a 3 min steep in 225 ml at about 95°C.
This is not a particularly sweet Assam, though it does have some nice bright red fruit and citrus tones in its scent and in its flavour when hot. Also present in the scent were nutmeg and cinnamon, the upper tones fmalt, a hint of biscuit and a very faint note of molasses.
The fruity tones were really only strongly apparent in the hot tea and mixed with malt, nutmeg, cinnamon, the lower tones of malt and a touch of cocoa. It felt light and bright on the tongue, with tannins counterbalancing this by providing a little density in the mouth. As it cools a floral tone mixes with the spice and creates a spicy floral tone like gardenia that mixes with a woody sandalwood like tone. The floral tone keeps the sandalwood from tasting warm and heavy. The tea although tasting a little drier, remains bright and light and a little brisk. These tones come to completely dominate the fruit as it cools. The aftertaste is of spice with the deeper tones of malt. A mild sweetness is provided by the fruit.
The tea resteeps really well with the spice and deeper malt tones intensifying.
Altogether a really nice Assam,with a nice number of subtleties to keep it interesting!
Thanks *boychik*, this tea has many of the aspects I appreciate in my favourite assam. It is only a little lighter, not as sweet, and the floral spice note is stronger than my favourite. Thanks for sharing this special tea with me.
↧