A rich, deep, dark Assam that was still quite smooth and able to be brewed strongly. Among my favorite teas I've sampled from Murchie's, this would be a great choice for an everyday breakfast tea.

The dry leaf of this has a mild but very pleasant smell, sort of deep, soft, a little foresty, with a hint of wintergreen, something that always gets my attention in a black tea.

Brews a very pleasant cup that has a more cooling character than is typical for most Assam. Only slightly malty, somewhat toasty, and there are some floral notes and quite a lot of wintergreen, especially in the finish. Flavor is quite sharp, even when brewed on the weaker side. This tea is quite bitter, and has a strongly astringent finish, but I found it refreshing. I liked brewing strongly (heaping teaspoon, 5 min steep) as this made the aroma richer, but the bitternesss didn't seem to get any worse.

Tasted better when hot: as it cooled, the flavor got a bit muddled and the bitterness and astringent aftertaste bothered me a bit more.

Resteeps very well, and the second cup is similar to the first, but softer and less astringent. It is still strongly bitter and still has those pleasing wintergreen notes; more of the "forest floor" kind of aroma comes out.

Quite caffeinated and would make a good breakfast tea, but also quite calming and never made me jittery. I would be happy to drink this as a daily breakfast tea.

The price on this is great, I am loving this Canada-US exchange rate right now! Even without that though, this tea is very reasonably priced.

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