Harmutty Estate Assam TGFOP

Another Upton sample. I felt like I needed a wake up, so maybe a strong breakfast tea will do the job? The descriptions virtually requires milk and sugar, so I’m a little worried about the potency, but here goes nothing!
Wow, that is astringent on the back of the tongue! Not quite drying like a green tea, but much too strong for my liking! The overall flavor is much fuller than something like a standard lipton tea bag, and I get the raisins and caramel, but the caramel is burnt. Sugar most definitely helps it out!
This is a bold breakfast tea, but I was not equipped to handle it- it feels a little acidic in my stomach, to be honest. I’ll finish my cup, but probably will give the rest of this sample away.

This is my first time brewing a loose full-leaf Assam (have tried a CTC before). As with all loose teas, I am brewing this gongfu style. Even with the Indian and Sri Lankan teas meant for Western style brewing, I just don’t really find myself enjoying them as much when they are brewed really potent. I prefer to fragment the taste into shorter infusions rather than getting it all in one cup.

This Assam reminds me of something between a Yunnan and a Darjeeling. It’s got a nice floral aroma at first, but with deep, rich flavors like molasses and yeast. In the second infusion it’s got a flavor reminiscent of cranberries, with the bitterness to accompany, and it’s slightly astringent.

By the third infusion, the flavor’s seeming kind of flat to me. It’s tangy and bitter, still reminding me of cranberries.

I understand that many tea drinkers drink these heavier Indian black teas with cream and sugar. This may be the way to go in regard to this kind of tea, for me. I may make this East Frisian style and update with another review in a bit.

Update: Okay… so for the sake of like… science and stuff… I brewed some Western style with cream and sugar. I’m just not really sure what to think. It has a bitter finish even with sugar that really sticks in my mouth and I don’t like it. The taste is sort of pruney and woody. It’s not awful, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to drink this tea again. I’ve had bagged black teas that I enjoyed more.

This came as a bonus sample with my Upton order. It is a very nice breakfast tea, full of malt and raisin notes. I was distracted while it was steeping and let it go a little too long, but even with the long steep I’m not picking up any bitterness or astringency. It is rather robust, but I like that in a morning tea. Since this was my first time having this I didn’t add additions, but this is a tea that could easily handle cream and sugar while still allowing the flavors of the tea to come through.

Biscuits and tea, my favorite weekend breakfast.

Assams make such a good breakfast tea. I try to keep it so black teas are the only teas I have with milk and sugar, and given that I’ve had this before and it became really astringent when it cooled, I added both right off.

The dry leaf gave off the signature aroma of raisin and the taste right now is mostly hot water, so I guess I need to just wait for a minute and see what happens. I hope some of the raisin notes make it into the tea this morning…that smell was the main reason I picked it to drink…

Ah, yes, and now that its cool I have cocoa powder and raisins galore. A good start to a lazy Saturday.