Assam Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe Tea

The morning cuppa. Not my very favorite tea due the extreme briskness, but it has a bit of oompf for the morning time. Better with some soymilk to mellow it out. Someday I’d like to try some other teas from Fortnum & Mason.

sipdown! i really like this one. I seem to find F&M’s bolder teas to be quite delicious. this one was a lovely bold tea that was perfect for this early morning.

Another tea from NofarS, this was my first cup of the day.
A nice bold Assam, I steeped the leaf twice, first @ 3 min & then again @ 5. It’s been a few hours since I drank it, so all I can really say is I enjoyed it & it was nicely satisfying. Thanks Nofar!

This is a bold Assam. Not for it the mellowness of meeker Assams, or the timidness of Assam blends. You will get a sharp caffeine kick from drinking it, and the malty flavours are coupled with a brisk bitterness and a notable astringency that loves to be tamed by milk-and-sugar. Today I’m drinking it with a bit of maple syrup, since I want to feel at least some of its invigorating bitterness, and no milk. It is a great morning companion that I may have to relegate to the office, since it is getting woefully neglected at home.
The caddy is the wonderful F&M caddy (very beautiful, extremely functional, great for stacking), and the dry leaves are a mosaic of warm walnut brown with flashes of gold in between. It smells deliciously dusky, as if warning of you of the potent kick that it holds.

For now there’s a ceasefire, which is good. Let’s see how long it holds. Yesterday wasn’t great with two terrorist attacks in Jerusalem, and a coworker’s son that is in critical condition in hospital. He’s been stabilized, but is still far from recovery.
Where there is tea there is hope.

Fortnum & Mason Advent Day 12 (Sachet)

My experience with this tea is the opposite of nearly every review here. I saw tippy and golden and thought “hallelujah, an Assam that won’t upset my stomach!” Golden tips rarely bother me because of their natural sweetness and milder flavor.

Steeping it, I was surprised at how light the color was, a golden amber, and put it down to this being golden tip. It was smooth and had a bit of a honey note and some breadiness. Words I wouldn’t put with what I drank this morning are: brisk, astringent, bold, strong. It was a very civilized cup, needed no additions at all, and was very pleasant.

When I tore open the sachet to put the leaves in the compost pail, it seemed like a rather small amount of leaf. They were medium sized, not fines or severely broken. It didn’t lack flavor so I guess they knew what they were doing when they filled the sachets.

There are a number of reviews calling this a bold and strong tea, and most Assam teas are just that to me. This one definitely wasn’t. And that is how I usually prefer it – smooth and naturally sweet without a lot of bite. Nice one. But since my experience is so very different, I wonder if they changed their source or something.

My go-to morning tea. This stuff’s aroma and taste could seriously raise the dead, goes straight into the synapses and provides a needed, very decent caffeine kick.

Favourite Assam, no doubt. When I first tried it, it was like finding the answer to a question I hadn’t even asked myself, because as much as I’ve always loved Assam, I never thought it could get as good as this. I mean, it was already crazy good, but this is exceedingly crazy good!

Not sure if it’s because Assam is the tea variety I’ve reached to most frequently since I started this journey, but I’m not sure I’d describe this as ‘bold’. It sure is the strongest black tea I’ve tasted (not getting into smoked varieties), but this is what I’ve come to expect of morning time teas: appropriate caffeine amount and intense, comforting taste.

I brew it with boiling water for the whole 5 minutes recommended on the tin and add a splash of evaporated milk, then stir. If I’m feeling in need of some cajoling out of going back to bed, I drop a couple lumps of rock brown sugar into the cup before I pour the water and leave sugar, tea and milk be, à la East Frisian. I’m that weak-willed.