Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Grey’s Tea
Tea Description:
Recognisably malty, this is a beautiful tea not only to drink but to look at. The long white velvety buds of White Assam have a rich floral aroma and produce a rich flowery liquor that has good definition but without astringency. This is a lovely, highly exclusive and most beautifully made tea from the Methola Estate, located on the south bank of the great Brahamaputra river in eastern Assam. It is one that matches the very best white teas from China but with the rich maltiness that is exclusive to Assam. No other white teas are known to be produced in Assam. The buds are meticulously hand picked in early spring and are then air dried. Brew for fifteen minutes. This is a highly prized and unique white tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh goodness, this is delicious.
I (again) did not follow the suggested steeping parameters. I did not steep this for fifteen minutes. Something inside me was not able to steep an Assam that long – regardless of the leaf type, so I steeped this for four minutes. I’ve had one too many bitter Assam teas (yes, they were black, but they were bitter nonetheless) after steeping just seconds beyond three minutes, so steeping this one for four minutes was difficult for me to do.
But it turned out amazing with a brew time of four minutes. It is sweet, creamy and delicious. It has that malty note that I’ve come to expect from a high quality Assam tea, and the way the malty note melds with the creaminess of this tea … it becomes absolutely decadent. So smooth and rich, with virtually no astringency … and nope, no bitterness.
Perhaps this would be alright to steep a little longer. However, I must say that I’m really enjoying it at four minutes, and it’s hard to believe that I could enjoy it more if it were steeped longer. I’d just have to wait longer to enjoy it!
This tea is good for at least two infusions, as well … perhaps more! I found the second infusion (I steeped it for six minutes the second time) to be still malty and creamy, although these two notes seem to have softened somewhat to make way for the emerging fruit and flower notes that I tasted. Not overly floral, but pleasantly so, I found the fruit notes to give this a delicious, juicy quality that was positively thirst-quenching.
This is a tea I’d recommend to all tea drinkers out there. It’s one of the most unique teas I’ve yet to taste. It is different from a typical white tea, it is different than a typical Assam tea. It is in a league all its own: it’s absolutely wonderful!
