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This was one of a couple of samples I finished before leaving for a campus visit in Georgia. I didn’t have time to submit a review before I left, so I wrote fairly detailed notes about the session I conducted with it and planned to review it after I returned. I got back earlier this afternoon, and naturally, I am now submitting a review. Overall, I found this to be a nice Assam with enough complexity to satisfy and an intriguing fruitiness.

I went with a single Western-style infusion for this tea. I steeped approximately 3-4 grams of loose tea leaves in about 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted malty aromas with hints of fig and prune. After infusion, I detected stronger aromas of malt, fig, and prune accompanied by emerging scents of caramel, brown toast, cream, molasses, leather, honey, raisin, spice, and roasted chestnut. I could also catch fleeting impressions of orange and chocolate in the background. In the mouth, I detected a nicely balanced mix of malt, cream, brown toast, fig, leather, prune, raisin, honey, caramel, chocolate, orange, cinnamon, nutmeg, and roasted chestnut flavors. The finish was smooth, creamy, and malty, offering lingering notes of fig, prune, brown toast, caramel, and molasses underscored by a subtle hint of camphor that I did not catch earlier.

As far as Assams go, this one was commendable for its nice texture and balance in the mouth, intriguing bouquet, and complexity. I do not often get fig or dried fruit notes from traditional Indian Assams, so that was a nice touch that set this tea apart from many others of its type. I would recommend this tea highly to those looking for a reliable Assam with plenty of flavor.