Premium Taiwanese Assam Upgrade

I was going to have a cup of Premium Taiwanese Assam this morning. I sleepily measured out the tea, the water was hot, the tea was steeped, then I sat down to drink. I was thinking to myself, “Something is different. This seems to have lost something.” It wasn’t as sweet. It wasn’t as chocolatey. It wasn’t bad, it was nicely bold & deep, but not what I was expecting. Then I realized I’d made a cup of the ‘upgrade’ by accident. Nothing wrong with it, nothing missing, it’s just not the same tea.

This is a sipdown!

Another travel mug tea from yesterday. The lack of astringency means that I don’t hate this tea or anything, but it’s certainly not my favourite. I cannot WAIT for my teas to come in from Stacy… I’m getting nearly 5 oz. of the regular PTA in either straight or flavoured form. Sooooooo awesome…

This is such a lovely cup! Malty, bold yet a subtle fruitiness.
This goes well with an afternoon of watching crime TV series on Netfix.

Tea friend at work shared this with me today. Funny how everyone gets different flavors from teas. He immediately got bread and sweetness. I immediately got pretzels. As it cooled, I got the sweetness and some caramely notes, he got more pretzel. :) We both like it a lot, hot and cooled. So smooth and layered.

Verdict is out, I much prefer the non upgraded version of Stacy’s premium Taiwanese Assam. That’s not to say that the upgraded version doesn’t taste yummy, but the notes that come alive when the tea is brewed are to my preference in the non upgraded version. This version is a bolder, stronger cup of tea that is less fruity and chocolate that the first version. It is malty and i do get the cocoa notes, but the sweetness in the non upgraded version isn’t in the upgraded version. Still a fine cup of tea that I’m glad i tried, but final verdict is that i prefer the other version :)

I brewed this immediately after drinking my sample of Premium Taiwanese Assam, so that I’d be able to compare more effectively. The first thing that caught my attention was the difference in scent as this one brewed. The PTA was very malty and sweet, where here I could smell something more reminiscent of grapes. The liquor is slightly darker, so I felt safer adding a splash of milk to this one.

On tasting, I’d agree that these are two entirely separate teas. There’s no sweetness here, and no chocolate, but there’s no astringency either. It’s smooth and very delicate tasting (smoother than th PTA, I think), with clearly discernable citrus notes. I can’t taste grapes, but there is something raisin-like here, and a light maltiness.

On the whole, it’s hard to say which I prefer. They’re both wonderful, and I think they’d both suit different moods. I’ll probably start with a supply of both, and work out which I like best over future tastings. I’m really impressed with this one, though (and with myself, for being able to taste the difference!) Amazing.

Another tea from Terri Harplady that I was super excited to try (again, many thanks Terri!). I’ve had the regular Taiwanese assam so I was curious what the upgrade would add. It’s definitely a bolder cup and not quite as sweet. I don’t mind too much as I add a little honey and cream. I’m enjoying this a lot. Someday I want to to have a blind taste test with #49, Tiger, Non upgraded, and upgraded assam and just see what happens.

Thank you so much Stacy fo having added this one to my order as a surprise sample.

I’m happy I can taste this upgrade version, I am now at my third steep and it has lost a part of its flavours to my opinion but I really enjoy the sweet malty notes and the honey notes.
On the first steep I had stronger malty notes but on still a fresh way and sweet.I also has a lovely honey taste.

This is a pleasant tea to drink espacially now in summer because the taste is there but it keeps (as the regular PTA)a light behavior, it almost gets some citrusy notes on aftertaste.

I have bought the classic version but no doubt I’ll consider this one as well for future purchases.

Thank you Stacy for this sample tea!

I’m not going to compare this Assam to the other Butiki Assam Tea’s. It would be unfair and disrespectful. The leaves are grown in different regions, and the trees along with climate are giving their best.

I’m looking at the liquor in a glass mug.

The clarity of it’s topaz color is very fine, and when the light catches a corner of the glass…gold and peach tones glisten.

I can smell maltiness.

Lifting the cup to drink, the malt smoothes to milk chocolate and finishes with caramel corn.

The flavor is soft and smooth.

Slurping the tea on the second sip (which I should have done in the beginning), I taste light citrus…very clean and fresh.

I’ve tasted an Assam Blend from Taiwan before, but not a pure Assam.

This tea is sweet and light. A tea that I would reserve for warmer months because of the liquid honey sweetness and clean varied flavors.

Taste note numba 50! :D

Okay, I’m weird. I don’t taste what everyone else tastes, but what I taste, I love. So I guess that’s okay then. :)

Taiwanese Assam Upgrade version tastes like sitting in a log cabin in front of a roaring fire. It’s thick, and hearty, and especially goes great with a hot bowl of Red River cereal in the morning. What’s really strange though, is that for me this tea tastes really savory! It’s amazing how differently people interpret different tastes, but no matter when I have this, or regardless of if I have anything before it or not, that’s what I taste. I don’t know how else to describe it. I’ve had multiple cups of this now, and I can’t really tell you what it brings to mind other than the image I explained above.

Sadly, due to it being a AAA tea, it’s pretty expensive. Dx; Especially when you factor in how much leaf you use per cup. If I was as rich as the impression I’m giving a certain tea retailer by my multiple large orders this past month, I’d make sure to have this on hand at all times, but since I’m not and there are other teas I do ultimately like better, this’ll be a once in a while indulgence purchase. :)

(By the way, for Steepsterites outside of Canada, Red River cereal is a type of porridge, but it’s kind of seeds and grains rather than being composed of oats. It’s very hearty and delicious, and I feel for you that it seems to only be in Canada.)