A brisk Assam with a slight harshness, but also more interesting than most.

Thank you to my friend Janina for bringing this back to me from Germany! This was one of three Assams I sampled from Teekörbchen Gelnhausen, and it was good, and aptly described. It's also the first tea I've sampled from Nagaon, a district on the border of what is considered "upper" and "lower" Assam.

Dry leaf consists of small, curly pieces of broken leaf, and has a strongly fruity aroma, reminding me of sangria, with a wine-like quality and hints of strawberry and orange.

The brewed cup is brisk but somehow softer tasting than many Assams; the aroma smells mostly like grain, but is less malty and more like rice. Oddly, the fruity notes that dominate the aroma of the dry leaf are mostly absent from the brewed cup. Moderately astringent all the way from the beginning of the sip through the finish. Light bodied, leading this tea to seem sharp.

Resteeps very well. I liked brewing this strongly, using a teaspoon and a half of leaf and steeping for 5 minutes. When brewed strongly, a slight sweetness comes out, and there was a hint of caraway in the aroma that I didn't notice before.

I preferred this tea on its own or with citrus fruit. This tea would be a prime candidate for adding lemon to, although I enjoyed the same benefit by sipping it while also eating sections from oranges or other citrus. If eaten with sweets, it tastes a bit bitter by comparison. I liked how I felt after drinking it. Moderately caffeinated; I preferred drinking this at the start of the day to later.

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