Assam Orangajuli (BI09)

Assam is one of those teas where I would really like to be able to find The Perfect Assam. Unlike Ceylon, which is just… Ceylon. Some are great, most are merely meh, but I don’t really feel the need to explore the area further. Assam though… There’s something about it that makes me want to like it more than I really do. And I think that’s because I haven’t found the best that Assam can be yet.

It was quite lucky that I happened to get an Assam this morning from the sample box, because I’m just exactly in an Assam-y mood!

I’m not getting much aroma from this cup. It’s malty and reminds me somewhat of raisins, although that smell might be coming from my fingers as I have been eating some raisins this morning.

There’s an astringent bite to this and it’s rather hard for me to really pick up anything else. This is not the perfect Assam either. I’m not sure what’s really wrong with it, but I can’t pick the flavour apart and this is just not it. I’m sure it’s a good tea. But it’s not IT.

The first thing that strikes me about this tea is the deep, rich, almost red colour to it.

It has a satisfying “proper English breakfast”-type aroma to it, which (without having tasted it yet) makes me think that it would stand up well to milk.

It is smooth going down. Considering how deep the colour is I would be expecting astringency, but I’m not getting much here (at least not in any unpleasant way). This is a lovely tea to have without milk, which is how I now typically prefer my Assams.

I think that the Assam Hazelbank (also from Nothing But Tea, which is what I have been drinking previously to this) perhaps has a slight edge on complexity of flavour. This falls a bit flat in comparison. Perhaps that’s not a bad thing though… it’s a lovely tea, smooth and delicious, and I’m glad to have it in my collection.

After a few brews I upped the amount of leaves that I used and it came out more bitter than I typically care for, so I tried it with milk. Yep, this is definitely a good tea for people that like black tea with milk and want to upgrade the quality of the tea that they are drinking (this is what I was originally trying to do before I fell into this delicious world of milk-less tea from which I cannot seem to escape).

Would I buy it again? Yes, I think that I would – it fills the role of something strong and a bit malty; not needing milk, but still holding it’s own if you add it. That’s a good tea to have in your collection.