Assam Tea

"Shangrila" tried and loved Satrupa's Golden Pekoe

I've tried it myself and I agree : Satrupa's can be amazing. They have the characteristic malt flavor of Assam's with a strange honey scent and flavor. Really a tea to discover another dimension of Assam's.

The poster sounded like an advertisement to me as well.

John

I agree,

Firstly I am a tea broker and I sell over 1.5 million kgs of Assam tea each year and I have never come across such rubbish. These teas mentioned on the website are nowhere near the best Assam teas produced in Assam. Don't be caught out be advertising and high prices

Teaguy

I would suggest a really good TGFOP1 grade if you like the big leaf teas. Especially from Gardens like Borengajuli, Behora, Bukhial, Itakhooli, Mijicajan, Corramore, Paneery etc

I noticed in some other places that it is recommended to drink Assam tea with milk otherwise it can be a bit overpowering.

I only drink black tea and I am wishing to experience better teas. My staple is good old Tetleys but since I tasted some alternatives recently my appetite has been whetted to explore further.

I thought I had found a good starting place for my explorations when I tasted some Gute tea in Sweden. However you might have noticed from another thread on this that I can't get this in UK. Also it appears to be a blend of different teas so I am unlikely to find out what the closest equivalent might be.

I tried chinese green teas some time ago but I couldn't really get to grips with them. They (ie what I brewed) were either too insipid or too bitter. I couldn't get that rich flavour from them and most ended up in the bin after a few attempts. (and yes I haven't a clue what I am doing so I could have been using the worst types).

I think I would prefer some good flavoured black tea and think purely from descriptions that Assam might be suitable. I appreciate that taste is very subjective so I guess my first step is to find a good speciality tea shop near me (Manchester area) - any suggestions?) Also I live in a soft water area.

However can anyone make a guess from a very vague description of "black tea with a good flavour" , what would be a good type to try first?

Thanks.

Derek

PS I'm getting a buzz aleady just from learning a little about teas so I can see this going further. :o)

Try Yunnan and Keemun. I tried many different teas over the last 2 years and these two were consistently good at many pricepoints and from different vendors.. I liked some assams very well, but still not as much as I liked best Yunnans and Keemuns. Some of the cheaper assams were boring. By the way, I prefer rather weak tea, and my favorite is sweet weak silver needles white tea, just 5-6 leaves in a 4oz gaiwan, I think if someone new to good teas tried it he might have thought it's a bit of honey in warm water, or something, but not tea because there's no taste of tannins at all.

I like Yunnans because they're sweet, too, and silky. And a little smoky, some of them.

Ceylons that are on the more expensive side are sometimes also very good and a little sweet, just like expensive assams.

- Andrei

Thanks Andrei. How would you define "sweet"? I can drink most things - even tea with milk (yukk) but the one taste I can't manage at all is tea with sugar. I drink my tea "black" - ie no milk or sugar.

Derek

Derek McBryde wrote in news:bff5qg$eso$1 $ snipped-for-privacy@news.demon.co.uk:

The world of tea is extremely varied, even if one holds oneself only to black tea.

My favorite black tea is from Yunnan, China. It is called "Golden Needles". I buy it from a vendor here in the US (Rishi Tea), but you may be able to get it from a UK vendor too, as it is not exclusive in the US. There are no flavorings added to the tea - the flavor comes from the leaves themselves. I find the flavor rich and warm and velvety. I don't add any milk or sugar. There's no need to.

This tea is a bit on the expensive side, but worth it if you like it. Try a small sample if you can. Alternatively, this is just a very nice example of Yunnan tea. I've enjoyed less expensive ones too. None of them seem very fussy about brewing - quite unlike many green teas or even some blacks (notably Darjeelings).

Since you like black tea, why not try a small tour of the black tea world via some samples? You might try a Yunnan and a Keemun from China, teas of Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri from India, and perhaps a few examples from Sri Lanka. The variety is astounding. You'd be in for a treat!

Happy tasting,

Debbie

ooooooh... a sock puppet.