The difference in cost for Assam teas
I am new to this site and find it very informative. I have always loved high quality Assam teas but less able to find my old favorites. I have been searching the web and it seems to me there is a vast difference in price among the different sites. i.e. a A Marangi second flush TGFOP1 (clonal) is $11.95 per 100 grams in one site and a 266 Assam Meleng FTGFOP1 (SP) is $19,50 for 4 oz. I see that there are some differences, but what are they and how do they impact the taste etc. I thought the main thing to look for is that they are second flush with lots of gold tips, which these both have. Thanks for being patient with a newcomer.
Size matters.
Differences in tea estate location within the Assam plains/valley and low hills, in the size of the estate (smaller and often older versus larger and usually (but not always) newer plants/varietals (clonals).
The well respected Marangi Assam estate is small (less than 300 hectares) and its tea bushes are old (~50 yrs). The Meleng estate is larger and it's teas are actually quite reasonably priced, at slightly lower quality grades.
Assam Meleng Estate TGFOP-1, 18 bucks a pound.
http://primatea.com/index.php?main_page ... ducts_id=5
You chose two second flush teas - but what exactly does that mean for Assam varietals?
Second flush is best. First is more delicate in flavor, winter is least flavorful.
http://www.teainfusion.com/types/assam-tea.html
Grade counts, too.
Full-leaf, Tippy, Golden, Flowery, Orange, Pekoe, Grade 1, Special
The other difference is the grade, of course. SP, for special (plucking). High concentration of the very youngest and sweetest tips.
With more than 300 Assam estate teas available to the west (of the more than 800 total number of estates producing tea in Assam region), and improved marketing and distribution that has many of these highly regarded estate teas in distribution in the US, you can spend quite a bit of time and effort trying to pick out the complex flavors, overtones and nuances (fleeting flavors, usually highly volatile components that are short lived in a large surface area cup at warm temperature).
The better Assams and their Ceylon cousins are suitable for drinking throughout the day. Many are self-drinking (nothing need be added, they are naturally sweet and have complex flavors), but some may require a splash of milk to curb excessive maltyness (amino acid content) and astringency (antioxidants/polyphenols produced from those amino acids) - depends on how (nutrients used) and where (shading, water supply, etc) they are grown and (when = age of the leaves used) and how (leaf age) they are harvested, and processed, designated by the grading system.
http://www.assamteaxchange.com/abouttea ... rading.asp
You can see by the percentage produced as whole leaf (less than 15%), it's a numbers issue.
Edited for clarification.
The well respected Marangi Assam estate is small (less than 300 hectares) and its tea bushes are old (~50 yrs). The Meleng estate is larger and it's teas are actually quite reasonably priced, at slightly lower quality grades.
Assam Meleng Estate TGFOP-1, 18 bucks a pound.
http://primatea.com/index.php?main_page ... ducts_id=5
You chose two second flush teas - but what exactly does that mean for Assam varietals?
Second flush is best. First is more delicate in flavor, winter is least flavorful.
http://www.teainfusion.com/types/assam-tea.html
Grade counts, too.
Full-leaf, Tippy, Golden, Flowery, Orange, Pekoe, Grade 1, Special
The other difference is the grade, of course. SP, for special (plucking). High concentration of the very youngest and sweetest tips.
With more than 300 Assam estate teas available to the west (of the more than 800 total number of estates producing tea in Assam region), and improved marketing and distribution that has many of these highly regarded estate teas in distribution in the US, you can spend quite a bit of time and effort trying to pick out the complex flavors, overtones and nuances (fleeting flavors, usually highly volatile components that are short lived in a large surface area cup at warm temperature).
The better Assams and their Ceylon cousins are suitable for drinking throughout the day. Many are self-drinking (nothing need be added, they are naturally sweet and have complex flavors), but some may require a splash of milk to curb excessive maltyness (amino acid content) and astringency (antioxidants/polyphenols produced from those amino acids) - depends on how (nutrients used) and where (shading, water supply, etc) they are grown and (when = age of the leaves used) and how (leaf age) they are harvested, and processed, designated by the grading system.
http://www.assamteaxchange.com/abouttea ... rading.asp
You can see by the percentage produced as whole leaf (less than 15%), it's a numbers issue.
Edited for clarification.
Re: The difference in cost for Assam teas
For me, meleng and mangalam high-end, golden-tippy tea is the pinnacle of indian tea, and just an awesome liquor, bursting with flavor and tannins, but exquisitely balanced, totally delicious... a LOT of work is put into these tea's, the best young golden buds are used, and demand is high enough across the globe to produce relatively high prices.Scarlet347 wrote:A Marangi second flush TGFOP1 (clonal) is $11.95 per 100 grams in one site and a 266 Assam Meleng FTGFOP1 (SP) is $19,50 for 4 oz.
If you are new to tea, try some $2-3 samples of different Assams, if you can tell the difference and prefer the more expensive ones, go with them, if not, stick with the more economical stuff.
I for one, don't always prefer the most expensive chinese greens, so i stick with the upper-middle grades... but for me, top Assams are worth the expense. On some level its just a matter of taste and preference... and worth repeating, even the most expensive indian teas are still ~50 cents a cup or less, a bargain for some of the best tea money can buy...