My first Assam (from Adagio) was given to me in by a friend hoping to addict me to loose-leaf tea—and this tea was part of what hooked me. I didn’t know what to make of it on first sip. It grew on me as I drank more, seemed to have a complexity other teas lacked. I also found this is one tea that really tastes its best with milk—dairy or soy. Other teas might stand up to milk, this one I think is enhanced with it. And I usually prefer my teas without. Later my friend sent me this Assam (Gingia Estate) from TeaSource. And though I’ve found since I usually prefer TeaSource’s teas to those from Adagio, in this case I think Adagio’s Assam Melody has an edge. A very slight edge. This is one of my favorite teas.