Tea Review 154 - The Republic of Tea Organic Assam Breakfast

Organic Assam Breakfast Black Full-Leaf Tea
The Republic of Tea

Here's the description Republic of Tea gives for their Organic Assam:

The robust, malty character of this tea comes from pure, unblended Assam leaves grown in Northern India. Plentiful golden tips on leaves & hearty body qualify this tea at the top of its class. This tea was also a winner in the North American Tea Championship Assam Tea category.

It's a champion and it tastes like one and I could pretty much tell that from the moment I opened the canister and was hit by the aroma. The dry leaves had a kind of faintly spicy smell - spicy in the manner of cinnamon or nutmeg - and I actually doublechecked to make sure that this wasn't a flavored tea. It's not but it did have a the great full flavor one hopes for in a topnotch Assam.

It might not be the best of all the Assam teas I've tasted over the years but this one definitely ranks near the top of the heap. Recommended.

Image: The Republic of Tea
Sample provided by The Republic of Tea
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Tea Review: English Tea Store Golden Heaven Yunnan

Here's another article I recently wrote for The English Tea Store blog.

Tea Review: English Tea Store Golden Heaven Yunnan
By William I. Lengeman III

I consider myself to be a rather avid fan of Assam tea, a black variety that hails from the Assam region of India. Although I’m always careful to note that Assam teas are definitely not all created equal and some of them are rather yucky, to be quite honest. But I’m such a fan of this tea that on two separate occasions I’ve devoted an entire month at my own tea site to considering its many and varied charms.

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Tea Review 150 - Whittard Assam Hazelbank

Assam Hazelbank
Whittard of Chelsea

To paraphrase that old slogan for the Marines, I'm looking for a few good Assams - always. I've had the pleasure of trying a few good ones lately and Whittard of Chelsea's Assam Hazelbank was yet another. Not all Assam tea is created equal, as I've said many, many times, with the lesser ones tending toward bitterness and a distinct lack of flavor. Not so with this one, which was quite flavorful and with a "classic" Assam tea (whatever that means).

Here's what the merchant had to say about this one:

This small and picturesque garden produces one of the world’s best teas. This tea was named after Hazel, the daughter of state official, Dr Mead. The richness, size and colour of its tips make Hazelbank an all-time favourite.

Image: Whittard of Chelsea
Sample provided by Whittard of Chelsea
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Tea Review 148 - Luhse Tea Assam

Assam
Luhse Tea

Over the years I've made no secret of my fondness for black tea and specifically Assam, although lately I've been developing a marked fondness for Yunnan black tea as well. Lushe Tea doesn't really elaborate on the origins of their Assam or whether it's a single-estate variety, but I suspect that it's probably not. I wouldn't rank this one at the top of the Assam heap, but by the same token it wasn't so shabby either. I wouldn't have any objection to drinking it on a regular basis.

Luhse doesn't have a lot to say about this one, but here it is:

No explanation needed for this founding father, revolutionizer of the 19th century. Bold, brisk, malty, strong and bright.

Image: Luhse Tea
Sample provided by Luhse Tea
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Tea Review 142- Mountain Rose Herbs Darjeeling

Darjeeling Tea (1st Flush)
Mountain Rose Herbs

As much as I like black tea I have to confess that Darjeeling is not typically one of my favorites. As a general rule they tend to be a bit too thin for me and I find that they tend toward bitterness rather easily.

This first flush, Fair Trade Darjeeling from Mountain Rose Herbs was a little different than most of the others I've sampled. It seemed to me to have a fuller taste than many and some flavor notes that were faintly reminiscent of chocolate/cocoa. While I probably wouldn't put it at the top of my black tea list I certainly found it quite drinkable.

Here's what Mountain Rose has to say about this one:

A true unblended Darjeeling tea from fresh, green, subtle leaves. Darjeeling is one of the most sought after tea beverages for its astringent qualities and its ability to indulge the taste buds. Has a wonderfully grounding aftertaste, and is complex in characteristics. From the Northern Himalayas in India comes this exquisite tea fit for the most occasions. Our Darjeeling tea is Fair Trade certified and contains caffeine.

Image: Mountain Rose Herbs

Sample provided by Mountain Rose Herbs
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Assam Month Review: Rishi Golden Assam

Golden Assam
Rishi Tea

I'd rank this one as somewhere near the mid-range of Assam teas but not quite up there with the best that I've sampled thus far. It had a good flavor, was very smooth and had little to no astringency. I'd have no problem drinking a tea like this on a regular basis.

Here's what Rishi has to say about it:

The Assam region of Northeast India is famous for its black tea production. The sub-tropical valleys of Assam in which tea is cultivated yield gutsy, bold infusions with full body and flavor. Our single estate Golden Assam is from orthodox manufacture and has an abundance of even grade leaves and golden buds. Its rich liquor is sweet, robust and malty with notes of fruity raisin and date sugar.

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Assam Month Review: Culinary Teas

Assam Gingia - TGFOP Tea
Assam Borengajuli Tea
Assam Bukhial - TGFOP Tea
Assam Tarajulie - FBOP Tea
Culinary Teas

If I was more methodical about the process of sampling and reviewing teas I'd do side by side comparisons when I have multiple items under consideration. Okay, I'll make a note of that for future reference. Since I neglected to do that this time around I'll just go on record of saying that all of these Assam varieties provided by Culinary Teas are ones that I would be happy to drink on a regular basis.

There's virtually no astringency or bitterness - the downfall of so many lesser Assam teas - to be found in this bunch. If I absolutely had to rank them I'd go with Gingia in first place, followed by Borengajuli, Bukhial, and last, but not really least, the Tarajulie. Which is not to say that the Tarajulie was significantly "worse" than the Gingia or any of the others, because there was a very small difference in quality between these four.

Recommended all around.

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Assam Month Review: Greenwood Estate

Greenwood Estate STGFOP
Upton Tea Imports

Hello. What went wrong here? I had very high expectations for this one. They were even higher after I opened the package and caught a glimpse of all those golden tips and the great aroma of the dry leaves. And while you can’t always count on a direct correlation between price and quality, at about fifteen dollars per ounce (for the 50g size) you do expect something decent.

So I was rather dismayed to find that this one didn't turn out so well. Not that it was terrible, but it just came across as kind of flavorless. I'm almost inclined to wonder if I might have done something wrong, as far as preparation goes, but the sample size wasn't sufficient to do much additional testing.

With all this in mind I'll refrain from drawing any firm conclusions about this one. I'll chalk it up to a possible case of operator error and will probably try it again the next time I order from Upton.

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Assam Month Review: Marangi Estate

Marangi Estate FTGFOP1
Upton Tea Imports

Here's another winner. I'd rank it about one notch above the Nahorhabi Estate that I recently ordered from Upton and perhaps a notch or two below the Malibru Estate, that I reviewed here not long ago. It's going to take a truly fine Assam tea to beat the latter but this one comes close.

Upton describes it thusly and I can find nothing to argue with in their description:

When we cupped this selection we knew we were sampling one of the finest Assam teas of the season. The rich liquor is thick, with pleasing malty notes, the hallmark of a fine Assam. The carefully crafted leaves have an abundance of golden tips. A selection perfectly suited for a bracing morning cup or a rich afternoon treat.

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Assam Month Review: Malibru Estate

Malibru Estate FTGFOP1 Cl
Upton Tea Imports

We have a winner - so far. This is the sixth Assam tea I tried for our Assam month observation and while some of the others were very good, none of them hold a candle to this one. There are a few others I haven't gotten to yet, but they'll have a tough time topping this one. Not that I would mind.

I can't quite put a finger on what it is that makes one Assam tea a little bit better than another (which could apply to any tea, I guess). The best Assams, like this one, are very smooth to the taste, with none of the bitterness and astringency that plague some of the lesser varieties. This one, like most of the other high end ones, has a very full, rich flavor with very faint spice notes, reminiscent perhaps of clove or cinnamon.

Upton describes this as coming "from the peak of the second flush season, this fine tea has an abundance of golden tips, with a fresh and rich Assam aroma." They also note that it "can take milk well." Which makes me cringe but I guess everyone likes what they like.

Highly recommended.

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Assam Month Review: Joy's Teaspoon

Tea Review 118
Mangalam Estate
Joy's Teaspoon

Mangalam Estate seems to be one of the more popular Assam suppliers out there, so it's surprising to me that in all these years of tea drinking I haven’t tried any. It's an oversight that's now been resolved, thanks to this sample from Joy's Teaspoon.

This is a good Assam tea, bordering on a great Assam tea. I don't normally bother with numerical ratings and whatnot, but if I were to do so, then I'd go with something like an eight on a 1-10 scale. There's very little of the bitterness or astringency that makes some of the lesser Assams so hard to take.

I wouldn't quite rank this one up there with the best Assams I've ever tasted, but I wouldn't have any problems drinking it on a regular basis. For some additional thoughts on this one, take a look at what Lainie at LainieSips.com had to say.


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Tea Review 94 - Organic Assam Banaspaty

Organic Assam Banaspaty
David's Tea

If there's anyone who's followed this site for a while, you might recall that I'm a huge fan of quality Assam varieties. So when Montreal-based David's Tea passed along a quartet of samples for me to weigh in on I pounced on the Assam Banaspaty like a coyote on a roadrunner.

A lousy or even a mediocre Assam is one of the more considerable disappointments in a tea drinker's day, but a great Assam is a thing of wonder. David's Assam Banaspaty falls firmly into the latter category. It has a smooth mouth feel, with no hint of astringency or bitterness. If I recall correctly, the packaging (which I discarded prematurely) mentioned that the flavor profile had some notes of honey. Which sounded odd to me and not all that appealing, but its true and it was actually quite a nice touch.

One thing I do take exception to is an excerpt from the Web page copy, which says "If you like milk in your tea, then this is the Assam for you." We all like what we like and I won't trash anyone for adding milk to their tea, but I'd strongly urge you to taste high-end Assam tea without milk. You may be surprised.

Highly recommended.

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Tea Review 72 - Assam, Nahorhabi Estate

Nahorhabi Estate FTGFOP1 SPL CL
Upton Tea Imports

If you weren't hanging around these parts during March, 2006 then you missed Assam Month. This, as you might have guessed, was a month's worth of posts largely devoted to the unique joys of higher end Assam varieties, for which I've become something of a cheerleader.

I tasted some great teas during that month, as noted at the end of this piece. I also tasted some mediocre ones and even a few lousy ones - no need to name names. Oh, and I tasted a decaf Assam that was downright appalling, but that's generally been the case with any decafs I've sampled.

A while back I got the hankering for some more Assam, so I ordered a few sample packs from Upton, as I'm sometimes wont to do. One of the varieties that really impressed me was Nahorhabi Estate FTGFOP1 SPL CL. In fact, it impressed me so much that I did something I haven't really done before - I ordered a larger package (100 grams).

This was a switch. As I've said, on many occasions, I'm very much in favor of sampling as many varieties of tea as I can. With about 60 varieties of Assam in stock at any given time Upton makes that easy to do.

Nahorhabi Estate may not be the perfect Assam tea, but it's close. It's a very robust variety that brews up very dark in the cup but seems to resist going bitter no matter what. Then again, I didn't really experiment with longer brewing times since I didn't want to waste even one cup of this fine stuff.

Nahorhabi Estate has a surprisingly sweet taste, with perhaps the faintest hint of cinnamon or clove. It's a very smooth taste - with no tannins or bitterness apparent to my coarse tongue.

All in all, a great experience. Very highly recommended.

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Tea Review 62 - Hattialli & Tippy Orthodox

Hattialli Estate GFBOP SPL
Tippy Orthodox GFOP
Upton Tea Imports

Yerba Mate Month is almost upon us, Assam Month is fading and the tea cupboard is almost bare of the latter. Oh, woe. But we'll usher out the month with a bang - specifically with one of the better of the dozen or so Assams I've tasted lately.

Hattialli Estate gets the best in show award, as far as Assam Month goes. It's not cheap. As a matter of fact, at $4.50 for a 15 gram sample, it's the most expensive of the sixty or so Assam varieties that Upton sells. But it's worth it.

This is one of several varieties that Upton offers from this estate. It's overflowing with nice tips, not to mention an outstanding aroma and flavor and a mouth feel that's smooth as silk.

Here's the full description from Upton's site, to which I say a resounding "amen":

"This renowned estate has produced many top-notch teas in recent years. This example has a beautiful, broken leaf, with a high percentage of golden-copper tips. The fresh, invigorating aroma and thick liquor are backed by the full, complex Assam flavor."

If you'd rather not spend so much but you'd still like a nice tasting Assam you could do a lot worse than the Tippy Orthodox. One hundred grams of this one sells for just a little more than the sample of the Hattialli and yet it ranks right up there with some of the other top Assams I've had the pleasure to taste this month.

Recommended in both cases, but if you really want a thrill cough up a little extra cash and go with the Hattialli.

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Tea Review 61 - Three More Assams

Rembeng Estate TGFOP
Romai Estate TFBOP
Season's Pick Assam Dejoo GFBOP
Upton Tea Imports

Assam Month may be winding down but it ain't dead just yet. This review is a bit of an anticlimax, coming after the quite yummy Khagorijan and Bukhial varieties that I expounded upon last time around, but these three aren't all that bad either.

Not to make too much of this price vs. taste thing that I've been going on about, but the Rembeng Estate, the most expensive of these three, was also the one that impressed me the least. Upton says that it has a pleasant aroma with floral nuances and hints of honey. I found the aroma to be a bit on the harsh side and the taste kind of so-so. Not bad, but just nothing to get worked up about. Upton also sells a cheaper tea from this estate, the Rembeng Estate CTC BOP.

The Romai Estate fared a little better. It was surprisingly smooth and tasty and I found nothing to quibble with in Upton's assertion that it's "a rich Assam with raisin-like aroma and robust character." It appears, just from my cursory research, that Upton is the only merchant - or at least the only merchant with a Web presence - to offer tea from this estate.

The best of this bunch, at least in my humble estimation, was also the least pricey. That would be the Dejoo GFBOP, which is "a blend of select lots from the 2005 Dejoo Estate harvest." There are a lot of tips in this one and I thought that it had a rather light taste for an Assam. Perhaps a bit at odds with Upton's description of it as a "hearty cup," but what the Sam Hill do I know anyway? Well, I know I liked it and that's good enough for me. Upton also carries two other, more expensive, teas from this estate - SFTGFOP1S and SFTGFOP1, which might be worth looking into.

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Tea Review 60 - Khagorijan & Bukhial

Assam - Bukhial Estate
The Tea Smith

Assam - Khagorijan Estate STGFOP1 SPL
Upton Tea Imports

Sometimes you do get what you pay for. As I've been working my way through Assam Month, I've had the opportunity to taste about a dozen or more samples of tea from this region. I haven't always found a correlation between price and taste, as a few of the more modestly priced items turned out to be surprisingly good.

But in the case of the Khagorijan Estate there is a correlation between price and flavor. This is one of two teas from this estate that Upton offers. Of the 60 Assam varieties that they currently sell it's the sixth most expensive, just a few notches behind the Khagorijan Estate GFBOP CH SPL, the third priciest.

And it's well worth it, I should add. I'd rank this one at the top of the Assam heap - so far. I'm not too swift when it comes to devising those clever descriptions of what teas taste like, so I'll quote from Upton's clever description - "a top selection with an elegant, flowery aroma and complex flavor profile. The subtle layers of fruit and maltiness are balanced with a gentle pungency, creating a superb cup."

That works for me. A superb cup, indeed. As far as I can tell, from doing some cursory research, it's a superb cup that you won't find too readily. In fact, I didn't find any other vendors who handled it, though I didn't quite break my back looking for them either.

If you're up for another "superb cup" you should take a crack at Bukhial Estate. I obtained a sample of this one from the fine people at Nebraska's The Tea Smith. I'd rank it as only slightly less superb than the Khagorijan and roughly on a par with the Singlijan that I reviewed here.

And don't even think about spoiling the subtle flavors of these excellent teas with milk, sugar and all that rot. Or, if you absolutely have to, keep it to yourself. I don't think I could take it.

Tea Review 58 - Fatikcherra Estate GBOP

Fatikcherra Estate GBOP (Assam)
Upton Tea Imports

Here's an organic Assam tea from Fatikcherra Estate, which Upton's blurb says is "well known for producing teas with a strong character." I'm not sure if I know exactly what that means, nor could I quite fathom the comment that "the enticing cup has a solid flavor, which is enhanced by milk or cream." Ditto for "great for everyday consumption."

I think what they're getting at here, without coming right out and saying it, is that this one isn't much to get excited about. And it's not. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a bad tea, but I guess "solid flavor" is not so far off the mark after all.

This one has broken leaves - quite small ones - as the grading would suggest. I used a slightly shorter brew time to compensate, but still came up with a cup that had a slightly harsh aroma and a taste pretty much to match. Okay, maybe harsh is just a bit too strong, but Fatikcherra definitely lacks the mellow taste and nice smooth mouth feel of some of the other Assam teas I've tasted recently. It reminded me of a certain very well known name brand, which I wont name, but you can probably figure it out.

I wouldn't recommend this for drinking straight up. I'm not a milk, cream or sugar guy so I didn't try that, but I suspect it's shortcomings wouldn't be quite as noticeable that way.

Tea Review 57 - Sessa & Sessa (Assam)

Sessa Estate
The Tea Smith

Sessa B Estate STGFOP1 S
Upton Tea Imports

As luck would have it, I recently found myself with samples of Assam Sessa Estate from two tea merchants. That's luck, as in good luck, but we'll get to that in a minute.

When I decided to devote a month to Assam tea I ordered samples from Upton's Web site. With sixty to choose from, I admit that I was a overwhelmed. So I sorted them by price and picked out ten samples from across the range. Not long after, the fine people at Tea Smith (yes, Virginia, there is good tea in Nebraska) were kind enough to contribute a few samples for Assam Month. Lo and behold, there was a bag of Sessa.

Upton's Sessa is near the low end of the price range and Tea Smith's is also rather affordable. As a general rule, I think we're conditioned that we're going to get what we pay for. Therefore I didn't expect these samples to be anything special. But once again I've found that there is not always a correlation between price and taste (though sometimes that's true). Granted, the Sessa was not up there with some of the better Assams I've tasted - the Singlijan I reviewed here and the Khagorijan that I'll be reviewing soon - but it's not so shabby either.

I was curious to see if the two samples tasted any different and they didn't, though we could check that up to my relatively unsophisticated palate. Both have relatively large leaves and a lot of nice golden tips. Upton suggest trying theirs without milk - always my preference - and say that it "combines a sweet maltiness with a delightful floral note." It may be the untrained palate talking again, but I didn't really catch the latter. I did notice that both tended toward bitterness when oversteeped even a little, something that I've found that a lot Assams tend to be more forgiving of.

But, all in all, these are both good teas, especially given the price. Not quite the top of the heap, but recommended nonetheless.

Tea Review 54 - Decaffeinated Assam

Decaffeinated Assam
Upton Tea Imports

My one-word review of this tea - nasty.

My two-word review of this tea - colored water.

Okay, you get the point.

When I'm reviewing tea I generally try to accentuate the positive and not engage in the "bashing as entertainment" style of reviewing that seems to have its fair share of adherents. But this is just not a very good tea and there's no way around it.

That's too bad, really, because I wanted to like it and I wanted it to be wonderful and and I wanted it to be that elusive tea that has all the flavor of a great Assam without any of the caffeine that inevitably leaves me with that pummeled feeling. But friends, this ain't the one.

I'm beginning to suspect that there really is no way to get the caffeine out of tea without taking with it a substantial chunk of the flavor, but if you have information to the contrary or if you have a recommendation, please do tell.

As for this one, I'm sorry to have to give it a "not recommended."

Tea Review 53 - Singlijan Estate TGFOP1

Singlijan Estate TGFOP1 (Assam)
Upton Tea Imports

For yours truly, the measure of whether a tea is good - yes, I know that "good" is a subjective concept - is how long it lingers in my tea cabinet. I currently have a few items in the old cabinet that have been around for a while and probably aren't going anywhere soon. I can't bring myself to throw away tea, but there are some teas I can't bring myself to finish.

Then there are teas like Singlijan Estate, the first of many Assam varieties we'll be featuring this month. This one vanished from my tea cabinet in no time at all, though I only started with a fifteen gram sampler in the first place.

Here's Upton's description of Singlijan: "The leaves are wiry and well-twisted, with light-golden tips. The cup has an aroma reminiscent of chocolate, and a flavor note of ripe apples with a clean finish. This tea can be best enjoyed plain."

I'd agree with that, for the most part, though my untrained palate wasn't slick enough to pick out chocolate or apples. My verdict would be "a very pleasant aroma with faintly fruity overtones and a very full-bodied flavor, with the same subtle hints of fruit." Something else that I noted was that Singlijan had a very smooth flavor, with not even a hint of astringency or bitterness, not even when it's oversteeped by a minute or two.

I have yet to make it through all the Assam samples on hand, but of the ones I've tasted thus far Singlijan Estate is head and shoulders above the pack. What's interesting to note, if you're looking for a correlation between flavor and price, is that this one is ranked 17th cheapest of the 60 Assam teas Upton currently offers.

I tried to find out something about Singlijan Estate or Singlijan, but didn't have much luck. Here's all I was able to come up with on short notice.