This was a smoother, higher-grade Assam that had a much lighter character than is typical for an Assam.

The dry leaf is pretty aesthetically pleasing, it actually looks much nicer than the picture S&V provided on their website: lots of tip, which looks more pale and less golden than some. Its aroma is rather fruity and somewhat floral.

When I started drinking this tea the first thing that jumps out is how clear and light and low in astringency it is. It's a change of pace from the usual deep, malty Assams. The low astringency enables you to brew it even stronger than some teas, which can be nice if you want a real wake-me-up kick.

The aroma of the brewed cup is intensely floral. The description references cocoa notes, which may exist but I found them fleeting, and the usual malty notes are subdued and more of a background to the floral characteristics. I get how you could describe it as creamy, though, because it's so smooth. The finish brings a few dark herbaceous notes that linger on the palate. As the cup cools, fruity notes come out more, but one thing I didn't like is that if the cup cools too much it ends up coming out a bit syrupy because the astringency is almost too low. For this reason I prefer brewing this strongly and drinking it when it is still hot.

This tea resteeps very well, which makes it offer better value. At times I enjoyed the second steep more than the first. I think the price is great, even using more leaf as I prefer with this one, you get around 15 cents a cup counting resteeps, if purchasing 4oz. S&V does sell an Assam I like more (Harmutty) but it is slightly more expensive, so you get what you pay for, and that is a very different tea from this, bold and dark, and I like drinking both. This a tea I would turn to when I tire of more tannic teas yet still want a black tea.

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