I’m going to be honest: I haven’t had an Assam in a while, because I have honestly avoided them. Since Alistair gifted this, I knew it was going to be good.
I tried gong fuing the sample with a rinse. It was faintly resinous, but malty, and a little drying while all to thin. I upped it up to a little over a minute in my tumbler. Like every single What-Cha tea, it’s smooth and of good quality. The sip started off with viscous texture, accented into the Assam’s malt, hinted at some cocoa, cherry for a split second, and then finished dry with citrus and something that reminded me of gin in the slight bitterness and astringency in the end.
Second brew, more malt, viscousity, and a touch more cocoa. I can see the jam a little bit by approximation because its got a little bit of that rhaspberry tartness in the finish, but I am getting it in the later steeps. It’s not that sweet and remains very much malty like most Assams, but its balanced. The brew is going good on its own without additives so far, but I see this going better with cream and sugar, or even just a bit of sugar.
I personally would not buy it myself, but I’m glad I tried it and do recommend it to Assam lovers for something balanced.
Flavors: Cedar, Citrus, Cocoa, Drying, Malt, Raspberry, Tea
