Assam Mokalbari 2nd Flush SFTGFOP1

Another tea box tea!

I love a good Assam, and that’s just what this is. It’s rich and earthy, but it also has lots of sweetness and fruity notes. The sweetness comes at the end of the sip, and it leaves a nice lingering note of caramel. Yum! It is a touch astringent, but it’s a good thing as it works well with this tea. The flavors are really full and wonderful. So, I just read the company’s description of this tea, and they mention tobacco. Yes. That’s the earthy note at the beginning. A tiny bit smokey but mostly earth.

This one is a winner. I’m so glad I got to try it. Thanks Tea Sipper for putting it in the box. It’s delightful!

I had this twice now for free at my local Tea Gschwendner since I am still their FourSquare Mayor. It it rich, I get the tobacco flavor, it is complex with multiple layers of flavors which I love. I am putting this in my shopping cart as well. It is complicated in a good way just like me.

Ancient Alphabet challenge – A

SO I’m starting an alphabet challenge again!  However, the goal is not actually to finish teas, but drinking the oldest tea I own with that letter.  So for example, shuffling my Steepster cupboard by ‘recent’ and starting on the last page, I look for the first tea (or maybe in occasional cases the second tea) starting from the end, that starts with the letter ‘A’.  This challenge will get me to revisit some older teas, while not just drinking the teas from the last two or three pages of the cupboard to switch it up. 

First victim!  This one isn’t even properly stored.  It’s a rare tea these days that still remains in my possession, in a thin ziplock.  If anything, they get stored within a better resealable pouch while still remaining in the thin ziplock.  This tea is still brisk… two teaspoons is way too much – at least it’s caffeine maybe? But if I had to unknowingly guess what type of tea this is, I would guess this is assam. So it’s still doing its thing. And hasn’t really muted into “generic black tea flavor”. Still drinkable!  Which might be the comment on so many of these old teas…

I’ve had this one several Sunday’s in a row now. It is my third TeaGschwendner assam to try out of four. As with the previous ones, this Assam also has a lighter profile. For me, this tea is just OK. For a top tier Assam, it just doesn’t compare to the Mangalam, Nahorhabi, Duflating, or Doomni teas I have been drinking lately. There is nothing really wrong with this tea – it just isn’t very exciting. Mostly just bright tea flavor. For the price, I would much rather have one of the other top tier Assams.

As a side note, I also expected more golden tips for the price of this tea. There were very few. The other thing – I don’t really care for the packaging TeaGschwendner uses. The tea comes in bags that simply crimp over the top – not air tight. I’ve been spoiled by Upton’s packaging.

While I am a die hard Oolong guy, I must confess that in the depths of winter I look for very robust tastes, unlike the delicate oolong.
This mornings tea comes from the amazing folks at TeaGshwender – if you are here in Chicago, this is the best source for teas locally – and one of the best mail order sources as well. http://www.teamerchants.com is there link.
I brewed up in my Miracle (also available from TGsh) some of their Assam Mokalbari Garden 2nd Flush SFTGFOP1. 1.5 teaspoons per 8oz boiling water for 3 minutes. Burned Red/Orange in the cup, with an awesome malty nose. Complex taste – toffee, brown sugar, nuts, with a spicy after, and just enough astringency to make the next sip refreshing. Almost creamy mouthfeel.
I find myslef savoring and analyzing each sip. One of my freinds stated that after drinking this, there is no point in drinking other Assams, as they are just mere mortal knockoffs. I usually drink most blacks with a splash of milk to hold down the astringency – but this is one I can drink without, or with a touch of sugar, or practically any combo. Excellent, I highly recommend this one.

Advent day 4. Plain, this tastes a little malty and like bread, but has a slightly bitter bite towards the end of the sip. I figured it was a good candidate for cream, but I’m not sure if that was the right choice. There is an almost peanut shell taste. Once I sip on past the shock of the flavor change I find a slight fruitiness to the cup. Is that right? Was my steeping basket contaminated from last night’s cup of Fireside Mocha? It’s hard to tell, but I have drank to the bottom of the cup as I ponder it all. It wasn’t a bad cup, but not quite remarkable either.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5rFCmhgX9C/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

After trying almost all this Assams, I see why this one is the most popular. It has a nice calming, rich taste to it. Low level of maltiness, gets better when it cools down.

When I brew this, I brew it strong to really get the flavors. If you only do 1 teaspoon, it will come off weak. Also, pay attention to how long you brew, it can bitter really quick. I brew it 2 minutes, sometimes 3, never more.

A great black tea from Assam. Taste:  Squash, tobacco, burnt caramel with medium+ to high tannin  content.  Very dry astringent finish which lingers with an aftertaste (15+ minutes) that clearly exaggerates the raisiny aspect of the tobacco notes. Physical/Mental Effects:  alertness, but not an overwhelming caffeine flush.

Tried this Assam for the first time about a week ago. Then brewed some this morning. I really like this tea, it has an earthy caramal note that I love. Although oolong is my favorite, I think I will have to add this as one of my favorites.

Nice. In the morning I prefer quite strong teas – this is one of them. Very malty and ever so slightly sweet. Lovely with sugar (DH tells me).