India Assam Mokalbari FTGFOP-1 Tippy Black Tea

Had it in the afternoon, approx. 3 hours ago. I will try to recall at least something.

The dry leaf aroma was quite interesting and not that appealing for me. Noticed some sweet stonefruits as cherries, maybe tiny hints of apricots but mostly tobacco.

But I decided to brew 4 grams per 300 ml, freshly boiled water and… that’s different story.
That story is about strong malt and dried plums. Today I learned it is called prune in English. So okay, malt and prune.

The story starts with wonderful copper colour of the brew. It is dark copper with lots of shine and clear colour. I steeped it for 4 minutes and… it was just right.

First sips were somehow normal, typical malty Assam profile. But then the explosion of taste did the bang! Malt, prunes, some woody notes (eastkyteaguy noticed cedar, while I think more about sandalwood, sweet notes as molasses (another stuff I never had chance to try, but I imagine being it like that), dates and figs (as he noticed and I have to agree).

One of the most complex Assams I had. The aftertaste was long and it was very energizing! Would like more than 25 grams, but paying my one and half shift money for whole box (which looks amazing though) is way too much. But it’s worth every penny.

Thank you a lot Alistair and White Antlers. Truly exceptional tea!

Okay, I’m finally back on Steepster to post a review. I doubt I’ll have the time to bang out more than one this evening. This website’s bugs are starting to drive me crazy. This is now the third or fourth time I have tried to post this review. Hopefully this time is the charm. Anyway, this is yet another blast from the past. I think I finished what I had of this tea in either February or March. As Assam black teas go, this one was pretty much exceptional.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped approximately 3 grams of loose tea leaves in 8 ounces of 203 F water for 5 minutes. I did not rinse the leaves prior to steeping, and I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of cedar, prune, raisin, tobacco, and dark chocolate. After infusion, I detected new aromas of malt, cream, honey, and orange zest. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of malt, honey, cream, butter, oats, tobacco, autumn leaves, cedar, caramel, raisin, prune, sorghum molasses, orange zest, pine, and lemon that were chased by hints of candied date, fig, roasted almond, and black cherry. There were even traces of red pear and dark chocolate left at the back of the throat after each swallow. The finish was wonderfully smooth, malty, and balanced with some pleasant fruity touches.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable Assam black tea. It produced a liquor that was very balanced and drinkable, presenting a wonderful and highly complimentary array of aromas and flavors while also offering a good amount of heft and fullness in the mouth. Basically, this tea offered what one would generally expect of a high quality Assam black tea. I doubt it will surprise any experienced Assam drinkers, but it is very enjoyable regardless. This is the sort of tea that doesn’t need to do anything out of the ordinary to be appreciated.