I found this tea interesting in that it is in the English Breakfast style, but is made from pure Assam. The tea bag looks unimpressive--it's just a simple tea bag filled with very finely broken tea dust or fannings.

The brewed cup is not bad though. It's a little darker in color than a typical English Breakfast, with a very clear liquor, and has a rich, deep, dark quality. Aroma is strongly fruity with only a hint of malt...the dominant tone in the aroma is dried fruit, like raisins or dates. I sense a hint of vanilla too, but overall the aroma is flat and lacks complexity.

I steeped 4 minutes.

Very low astringency; the astringency mainly surfaces on the back of the palate, as I drink more of it. I actually would prefer greater astringency for a tea this dark. I think the combination of the low astringency and flat aroma gives this tea a syrupy feel that I didn't like.

Perhaps a step up from the mainstream brands of tea bags in the U.S, but still nothing terribly exciting. Thank you to my friend Selby for letting me sample this one!

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