Vahdam Advent Calendar – Day 17
Another straight tea, and a pleasant respite from Turmeric Land (™). I will say I hope there are more Assam teas to come, as I tend to enjoy them more than the Darjeelings. This is a second flush, so I knocked the steeping temp up just a little bit, still trying to be conservative as I have little experience with this type of tea.
I do like this one. It has a smooth and somewhat thick bready flavor, reminding me of a Chinese black tea. There’s a bit of that caraway sort of vibe that I find in Fujian varieties specifically, along with a touch of hay and chewy raw grains. Otherwise some malt and autumn leaf, and that’s about it. I’m not really getting much in the fruity department, which surprises me for a Darjeeling tea. It’s very smooth, with zero bitterness or astringency.
There is a little hint of menthol-esque herbal note at the end of the sip that makes me think this has also been slightly contaminated from being near so many heavily spiced teas. It’s not unpleasant or anything, it just feels as if it doesn’t belong.
(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CI56irkAw4b/)
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Bread, Grain, Hay, Malt, Oats, Rye, Smooth, Thick, Wood
