Tiger Assam

Bold. Brisk. Slight bitterness- I might have waited too long to try this sample but I can tell that this is a really good tea. I might try the rest of my sample infusing at a lower temperature.

Smooth, dark, and a bit of bitterness that is offset by a caramel, malty undertone. The coffee of teas. My taking care of business tea. Even when I’ve forgotten I’ve started steeping a cup, it doesn’t go overly dry and tannin-y. A favorite for sure!

Thanks so much for the sample Sil. I was painfully curious about this one!

This tea opens with a slightly tart cherry- or raisin-like flavor. It’s not astringent or bitter at all, but it’s followed with a mouth puckering dryness like wine. I’ve never had such a smooth Assam. It’s sweet and there’s a certain earthy, brown sugar flavor lurking in the background. I’m not getting much cocoa but there is a substantial maltiness that coats the mouth. Maybe I’m crazy, but I feel like I’m getting a little bit of nuttiness, like praline. It’s faint enough for me to doubt my judgment. This is a good, bold tea for breakfast without the briskness or bitter punch that some other breakfast teas have. I can’t justify buying 4oz at a time, though, so I’ll just have to enjoy my sample while it’s around. (:

Finished off the last of my sample by oversteeping it. Result? Still excellent and not astringent. Definitely recommending this tea and adding it to my future purchase list.

Full review from this past Tuesday, here: http://www.createwritedrink.com/2015/02/tea-review-tuesday-review-of-andrews.html

Mmm yum! This is the exact type of Assam I go crazy for. Strong, sweet and deep with no bitterness. Absolutely perfect. I could drink this every single morning. I don’t take my tea with additions, but if you do I bet it takes milk and sugar like a champ.
Unfortunately, I think it’s just too close to Rishi’s Assam for me to justify a purchase (that tin though…). Since I can currently get Rishi’s for $3.92 per 45g it doesn’t make sense to buy this one as well. But I will definitely keep this one in mind should I not be able to find Rishi’s in the future.
Thanks for letting me try it Sil

Oh my GOODNESS is this going so well with my red cabbage and weisswurst for lunch! The bite of this tea is just utterly fantastic with food… nomnomnom…
Baked some brownies (David Lebovitz posted an incredibly gooey looking recipe on his facebook page today) for my husband, and already have two loads of laundry done.
I’m sitting here, drinking this fantastically malty tea, listening to some podcasts and just really liking this Friday. :D Cheers, everyone!

Thanks to Skulleigh for sending this along in our recent swap, because I’ve really been wanting to try it and I definitely need some ass-kicking, waking up today!

So I’ve been reading the reviews with some amusement this morning. Some people claim it’s too strong for some and I’m not sure it’s strong enough, lol…. It definitely has a nice malty flavor with a tannic, punchy kick in the finish that’s mellowed out by a touch of coconut sugar and milk.

I’ve had a lot of assams and I don’t think this is anything special, especially not for the price. The Organic assam from H & S is $11.50 for 8 oz. and is a better tea in my opinion. I was more a fan of the Red Tailed Hawk, which is smoother and has a really unique flavor profile. I’m glad I tried this though, it is a decent assam and nice with my morning Irish oats.

Backlog:
I was saving this for a special occasion. And so I thought that I’d take it to my grandpa’s birthday with me in a travel mug. I was so excited because i remember LOVING the sample Boychik sent me, and was eager to use up the rest of my sample.
But.
I started steeping this tea, then had to go talk to my mum about something, and right in the middle of our conversation I remembered.
My tea.
0_0
I ended up over-steeping it for like 3 minutes…which doesn’t seem like much, but it was so bitter. I tasted a little maltiness, which made me even more sad to know how much I missed out on. And I didn’t even get to re-steep this one because I had to go out to my gpa’s b-day party.
Oh…it was such a heartbreaking day…
I look forward to the day where I will finally pick some up! Really enjoyed this one in the past, and sad I couldn’t enjoy it more. :(

Thanks for this sample, Cameron B.! This is another Assam I’d been curious about but hadn’t wanted to commit to, since it’s only sold in one—very large—size. It’s strong and malty—though not quite as strong and malty as I’d expected it might be. There’s a strong raisiny note, with a fair bit of astringency thrown in to keep the sweetness in check. This is a nice Assam, but since there are other good options that can be purchased in smaller quantities it’s not necessarily something I’d purchase—4.4 oz. is a lot!

I got this one in a swap with TeaTiff. I’m always willing to try another Damn Fine Tea! The leaves of this one are long and thin, and mostly dark with a few golden spots. I didn’t get much of a dry scent off of it, which I find is rather common with straight blacks.

Once steeped, it has a lovely raisin aroma with some bread and caramelized brown sugar notes. The taste is also strongly raisin, which I love. There’s also a rich caramelized brown sugar note that blends beautifully with the raisin. Near the end of the sip, there’s the slightest hint of an earthy flavor, but it’s mild enough to be inoffensive. Overall, this one is very tasty and not what I expected!