India Assam Kanoka Hand-Made Black Tea

Second flush, May 2020

This makes a nice morning cup. It oversteeps well in the morning fog. The liquor is smooth, fairly light for an Assam. Malty and leathery but not overpowering, with a gentle cocoa base note that is more apparent in the fruity aroma. Enough astringency and balanced bitterness to brace my senses. The taste is also quite fruity with notes of pear and yellow cherry, perhaps some other fruits. I’ll try soon to pick this one apart a little more.

Ahhh…back to my favorite types of tea. I was a little out of my comfort zone trying the Japanese /Brown Rice tea….and another white tea. Here I am back to my very favorite type of tea. BLACK! This was yummy. Malt and notes of pear, and something faintly sweet. I first made it according to the direction with 2 tsp per cup. I found that way too much and made the tea too strong and astringent to where it over powered the flavor. Using just one teaspoon the tea was delicious. And never went bitter. I love my black tea as a latte…..but I found this was better without adding milk.

It’s a great one!

may 2019 2nd flush

2018 June harvest. Over a year old and it’s still tasting pretty good to me. I really enjoyed this one. It’s described as an atypical Assam. Western style, 3 steeps:

Steep 1, 3 minutes 30 seconds, slightly bitter, malty, smooth, pear, honey, honeysuckle, drying mouth feel.
Steep 2, 7 minutes, sweet sweet sweet honey and pear. Bitterness and malt have vanished.
Steep 3, 20 minutes, super sweet and rich, floral aroma, bready, sticky apricots, sultanas.

That third steep had me imagining sticky Easter fruitcake loaves with honey drizzle.

All 3 steeps came out this delicious golden syrup colour that was very inviting.

The only things I didn’t like was the bitterness in the first steep and that it only lasted 3 steeps. I wanted more from it. That 20 minute steep was a real surprise – I was expecting it to grow weaker rather than develop that fruity/bready flavour. I wish I had left the 2nd steep for longer. 4th steep wasn’t worth reviewing.

No fancy staged pictures this time, I was far too busy drinking it https://www.immortalwordsmith.co.uk/what-cha-india-assam-kanoka-tea-review/

But this is for 2018, 2nd Flush version (a sample):

Western, 3 grams per 350 ml, 4+ minutes

I had no idea which tea to make this afternoon, so I picked up a sample I have received with last order. It smelled wonderful, full-bodied black tea. After 4 minutes and something I have removed the strainer. The colour of infusion was wonderful clear and golden. In aroma it was still nice, black tea. But in taste it was massively malt. I don´t mind it and expect it in black teas. But this was bit overpowering all other tastes so I haven´t enjoyed it as much as few other Assam teas I had. A little, almost imperceptible there were fruit notes.

So, as for strong and bitter tea it´s certainly good one. But it wasn´t so awesome for me today.

Summer Vacation! I’m still going through my small collection of Indian teas, and I found another assam sampler floating around in my collection. While assams have never been my favorite, I figured I’d give it a go. It’s breakfast time, I have a new episode of Ducktales waiting on my Amazon account, a strong cuppa with some toast will do.

This tea was harvested in May of 2017 and I bought it last January, but my sampler has been sealed all this time, so hopefully it has kept fine. The dry leaf smells very much like a slightly peppery hay to me.

Color me wildly surprised that the aroma coming off this cup is actually quite sweet and fruity, not that heavy, bitter astringent malty scent that I’ve had from every other assam tea I’ve ever tasted. Mind. Blown. And this is why I’m willing to try any tea (banana teas and those containing my migraine triggers aside) at least once! I’m reminded of raisin bread and honey from the aroma. The taste is actually really smooth, with a much gentler maltiness, a more honeyed flavor, and a slight fruity/raisin taste on the finish. No bitterness or astringency to be had. This reminds me more of those smooth Chinese blacks with fruity/honeyed notes than anything even resembling an assam, and had it not been a sampler included in a tea sampling variety package I bought for the sake of getting to try a variety of things, I probably would’ve avoided it on the word “assam” alone. So I’m really happy I got to try this tea and am so surprised by it, as it is exactly to my tasting preferences!

When I made this cup, I had left plenty of room to add milk, expecting a bitter tannin overload and an astringency assault like I always get from assams. Normally I can never get a cuppa of assam down without adding milk, and often some honey as well. Absolutely no need with this, it is perfect as is!

2nd flush, late May 2017. Brewed in and poured from a pyrex jug. My notes on the bag say “fruity, honey, malt? 7/10”

Edit: revisiting this I like it more, and taste loads of candy-floss.

My second sample sipdown of the day, this was an incredibly interesting, challenging Assam. When What-Cha described it as atypical, they were telling the truth. Despite its uniqueness, it did, however, maintain approachability while displaying an immediate appeal.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped 3-4 grams of loose tea leaves in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of spice, orchard fruits, honey, and malt. After infusion, the aforementioned aromas intensified and were joined by subtle scents of cream and caramel. In the mouth, fairly robust notes of malt, honey, cinnamon, ginger, clove, red apple, and pear gradually faded and revealed delicate hints of sweet orange, cream, steamed milk, golden raisin, and toffee. The finish was smooth, silky, and unbelievably mellow with lingering cream, malt, citrus, spice, and orchard fruit impressions evident.

I will concede that I was not expecting this kind of experience from an Assam, but man, am I glad I purchased this tea. This reminded me of the Azerbaijani and Georgian black teas What-Cha offers. I admire those teas, and to me, this was like a fruitier, spicier version of them. If you are looking for a unique black tea and/or want proof that an Assam can be thrilling, step up and give this tea a shot.

This is a lovely black tea and one of my personal favorites. The dry leaves smell vaguely sweet and a bit like raisin bread, and I love how beautiful they look unfurled. Wet leaf smells a bit more like woodsy pear, sips down light, smooth and woody, with malt and pear. It’s like a baked pear tart in a cup, I love it.

Light malt and faint woodsy earthiness immediately transition to a distinctive note of pear and a slight hint of toffy, which is quite sweet and lingers into the smooth finish. This is a peculiar and charming tea, and one of the standouts of my order.