Sure, you can sip Assam for breakfast. We encourage it. But we're not going to call this tea the classic "English Breakfast," because that typically refers to a blend of lesser quality teas. These are big, black, organic tea leaves grown in Assam, India, where hot days and cool nights bring out a rich, full flavor.
Price: $7.95 for 15 sachets. That's $0.53 per sachet. It will steep twice reducing the cost to $0.26/mug
This sachet is from the Complete Sampler Kit provided by Two Leaves.
I can’t recall the last straight Assam that I reviewed. It has been a long time. Assam, in the past, has always struck me as beige. Nice but not memorable. Let’s see if Two Leaves changes my mind. This is a whole leaf sachet. I have only had tea bag fannings thus far in my tea journey. The sachet comes sealed in a clear plastic envelope. The sachet itself is biodegradable nylon. You can see the leaf inside and it does look pretty much intact and not the tiny dust specks I am accustomed to seeing.
The dry leaf does not have a lot of scent. I heated 12oz of water to boiling and poured over the sachet. The instructions say use a 4 minute steep. Mine was closer to 3 and a half. The brew has nice and dark. I removed the sachet and fought my old instincts to squeeze. If tea hurts your stomach, the two main reasons are over steeping and squeezing the bag – don’t do it! I resisted and instead, I turned it over a few times to drain it. I am amazed at how much it plumped up. Dry, I wondered if there was really going to be enough. Now the sachet is bloated with leaf. Cool.
As the cup sits cooling, I notice the aroma. It is wonderfully fruity, almost like a cherry pipe tobacco. This has me intrigued. As I begin sipping the fruity aroma fills my nostrils. At this point, the tea can taste like water and I am going to like it. Of course it doesn’t taste like water. It is cherry and woodsy. What else is that I taste? Is it malt? Why yes it is and it is good! There is no bitterness. The astringency seems light. This is hardly the beige I was expecting. Thank you Two Leaves for tearing down another wall of preconceived notions and enlightening me.
The second cup was just as tasty as the first.
Visit Two Leaves at http://www.twoleavestea.com/
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