CTC Assam (Assam CTC)
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Commercial Description
Enjoy tea as they drink it in India. Our CTC Assam has a striking amber color, rich flavor, and is full bodied as well. It is a key ingredient in several of our blends, including the East Frisian and Chai. It takes milk and sugar, and can also be enjoyed solo. An espresso-style tea! Kosher.
Ratings & Reviews
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68 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 3/5 Value: 3/5Alex Zorach (1448 reviews) on Mar. 30th, 2017
This tea was devilishly hard to prepare to my enjoyment, but had the side-benefit of resteeping unusually well for a CTC tea. By the time I finally got it just how I wanted, I was drinking up the very last cup of the sample I bought.
The dry leaf, bigger pieces than some CTC, is very aromatic and smells pleasing, strongly malty with notes of spice or potpourri, and a hint of wintergreen.
Upon brewing, there is a lot more savory / umami flavor than is typical for a black tea. Aroma is mostly malty, slightly fresh, not as interesting as I had expected based on how the dry leaf smelled.
The first time I brewed it I steeped for 3 minutes (I usually like my black tea strong) and the flavor was slightly harsh, and I actually liked it better after resteeping. This made me wonder if I had gone too long on the first steep, and sure enough the second time I drank this I only steeped for a minute and a half, and it was much better, but then I found I didn't use quite enough leaf. I had the best results with using a slightly heaping teaspoon and a two minute steep, followed by a very long (~8 min.) second steep.
I found this tea's ability to resteep well was one of the ways in which it stood out. Besides that, it was a little more trouble than it was worth. Enjoyable if brewed carefully, but very easy to oversteep, and also a bit boring if now brewed strong enough. There was a very narrow range of brewing in which I enjoyed this tea. Cheaper than most of Harney's black teas, but I wasn't crazy about it. I'd rather pay a little more and get something I liked more. And among CTC teas, I was a huge fan of Teakruthi's Rainforest Indulgence, perhaps that one spoiled me a bit...
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