REVIEW: Assam, Lavender Lounge Tea

My tea swap partner on Facebook, Evelyn, sent me the following tea, which I thought to review today.

THE TEA
Assam
Lavender Lounge Tea
LavenderLoungeTea.com

NOTES
This tea is a blend, not identified by single-estate status and whatnot. It seems pretty simple. The notes on the packet say: "ASSAM. Slightly malty tones. a.k.a. Irish Breakfast." I find it interesting that English Breakfast is often associated with Chinese Keemun tea, but Irish is associated primarily with Indian Assam.

This brings me to an interesting distinction. (And my pardon to botanists. I am a tea drinker, but I don't know horticulture.) Initially, people only drank Camellia sinensis sinensis, which derives from China. This plant was eventually brought to other regions, where it was cultivated and became regional cultivars. However, Camellia sinensis assamica was also eventually discovered and is native to India, and it is somewhat different from the Chinese variety. (There is apparently a Cambodian tea plant, as well, but I have never heard of anyone drinking it.)

I will quote this article:

Several varieties of C. sinensis are used for tea production; most prominent are the variety of Assam (sometimes called C. sinensis assamica or C. assamica) and the plant of China (sometimes called C. sinensis sinensis), as well as various cross-breads of the two.

The Chinese variety is a small-leaved bush with multiple stems that reaches a height of some 3 meters. Assamica has a single stem and larger leaves; it is usually 6 to 20 meters (20-65 feet) tall if not trimmed. Assamica is a lowland variety of the plant and does not tolerate cold winters, unlike sinensis. It has a higher yield than sinensis. The tea from Assam is exclusively the assamica variety. Most of Ceylon tea too is produced from this variety. Assamica produces a malty, earthy drink, unlike the flowery sinensis.

There is also a Cambodian variety of the plant, C. sinensis parvifolia, with leaves in size between the Assam and Chinese varieties; it is a small tree with several stems.

So that's the difference among the tea leaves, and why the malty teas are so different from the flowery Chinese and Darjeeling varietals.

PREPARATION
First steeping: 2 teaspoons loose-leaf tea bags in 2 cups boiling, filtered water, Japanese cast-iron tetsubin, 4 minutes.
Second steeping: 5 minutes

THE CUP
It's a dark-brown cup, somewhat opaque. The tea has a fairly pronounced orangey-citrus flavor. It's a pretty pleasant, serviceable Assam.

The second steeping is likewise opaque, but the flavor is much more muted. This tea can only withstand one steeping.

MY THOUGHTS
I'm not truly an Assam drinker. I value the lightness and sharpness of the Darjeelings and some Chinese teas, instead. That being said, because this tea is moderately malty-- as opposed to many Assams I've had, which can seem quite heavy and thick to me-- I find it to be all right, though not fantastic.

REVIEW: Organic First Flush, Single-Estate Darjeeling Tea, FTGOP-1, The Lavender Lounge Tea Company

http://www.lavenderloungetea.com/
1-877-LLTEACO
Lavender Lounge Tea Company
"Organic First Flush Single Estate Darjeeling Tea, FTGOP-1"

This is a tea swap tea (Thank you, Evelyn!), which is a single-serving tea bag. The tea is quite fresh, within the tinfoil, sealed bag.

PREPARATION
Boiling water, single bone china cup (covered), 3 minutes

THE LEAVES
The leaves are fairly small, quite black, tightly furled, and within some kind of clear nylon baggie thing. I'm not used to tea bags, and this nylon bag is new to me. I hope it won't affect the flavor of the tea. Also, I'm also not used to brewing single servings. Experiment, ho!

The tea is transparent to the bottom of the cup-- which is different from the Clipper tea that I drank earlier this morning. The cup is a rich peachy brown color, quite nice.

THE LEAVES
I cut open the tea bag and poured out the leaves. Very unusual aroma-- similar to the unsteeped aroma that hit me as I opened up the package. Very bright and a bit like fruit, with the sent of ash. The leaves are broken with quite a few very small pieces. I love the scent of the leaves, and I hope it carries through to the cup (which is unlikely, because teas almost never taste or smell like the leaves they leave behind).

THE TERROIR
This is the French term for "placeness," which always affects the flavor and smell of the tea. I wonder what single estate this tea comes from? I'm not enough of a tea person to be able to guess, sadly. Maybe someday I'll arrive at that point, where I can tell these kinds of things. At any rate, I wonder why some companies hide the place where they found their teas. I would think it's a selling point, and also a method of teaching their customer base about what their likes and dislikes are.

THE CUP
Very sweet and fruity. To my surprise, I am getting the same smell in the cup as in the leaves-- quite strong, too. For a first-flush, this is a bit surprising. It seems to have the complexity of a second-flush. There is definitely that grapey (muscatel) flavor all the kids go on about. Really, this is probably the dominant feature of this tea-- it almost tastes as though it were brewed with grape juice, rather than simply water. It has a very vibrant, grape-and-herb aftertaste. What herbs? Sweet, like tarragon, or basil.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
I can't wait to get my hands on the second cup and compare impressions maybe a few days later. It's pleasing, and I would like to find out more about it.