I thought this a typical, middle-of-the-road Assam of good quality. but not mind-blowing. Good for people who value smoothness in a full-bodied tea.

Dry leaf has a mild fruity aroma. Brewed cup is very smooth, but rich and full-bodied. Aroma is predominately fruity, but also malty, with the fruitiness resembling dried fruit like raisins or prunes. There's a slightly edgy astringency, typical for an Assam, but unlike most Assam teas I find the astringency comes mostly mid-sip and in the finish, less up-front.

A good tea for a good price...but I've been a bit spoiled by my discovery of Ahmad Tea. This is still a lot pricier than Ahmad's Kalami Assam...and while it is a bit more nuanced, particularly with a smoother flavor, I'm not convinced it's worth the extra bit of price. I'd rather drink Ahmad Tea for my everyday tea, and spend a little bit more for a higher-grade Assam if buying from Upton.

I've recently been trying a bunch of teas from Upton, and I'm not liking them as much as many of the teas I have tried in the past, but I think this may be due to the fact that they're teas I'm sampling that other people purchased for themselves, whereas the ones I have reviewed in the past are mostly ones I ordered, selected for my own tastes.

All this said, this tea is decent and you won't go wrong ordering it from Upton, especially if you want a relatively smoother Assam.

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