Hi! I am new to assam teas. I've read about them and tried about 25. I like many but haven't found THE one. I am looking for a strong, bold tea with minimal astringency. I also prefer medium caffeine, not high. I read tippy FOPs are great, BOPs are not so great, hence that's where I've been focusing.
Can some of you assam tea experts please provide your input and recommendations?
Here are the teas I like and don't like to give you an idea of my preference. Am I headed in the right direction?
- Boisahabi Malty TGBOP : This is my favorite flavor of the ones I've tried. I like toffee and wood/tobacco flavor. It's quite astringent though, high in caffeine and gets me a bit dizzy.
- Mokalbari SFTGFOP1: My second favorite for flavor, slight astringency, but still a bit mild.
- Harmutty STGFOP1S: It has a good woody flavor, but still kind of mild to me.
- Halamari TGFOP1: Thought this would be THE one (read so much about it), but too sweet.
- Mangalam FTGFOP1`: I like this one too, but it's a bit mild.
- Doomni Gold GTGFBOP: Another great one for flavor. But, it's BOP and high in caffeine.
- Marangi SFTGFOP: There was very little astringency which I like, but it was too mild.
- Chota Tingrai FTGFOP1: I found this too mild, bland, and more astringency than I prefer.
I would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions. Thank you for your help.
Re: Need help from Assam experts please
I would suggest looking at some Assam from Taiwan or Japan. Their flavor profiles tend to be less astringent and more sweet. Also, tippy teas would generally be higher caffeine since the caffeine is often concentrated in the buds as a natural bug repellent. However, I heard that early spring harvest buds tend to have less caffeine. Alternatively, switch to oolongs. They tend to have less caffeine and also less astringency.Miki wrote: Hi! I am new to assam teas. I've read about them and tried about 25. I like many but haven't found THE one. I am looking for a strong, bold tea with minimal astringency. I also prefer medium caffeine, not high. I read tippy FOPs are great, BOPs are not so great, hence that's where I've been focusing.
Can some of you assam tea experts please provide your input and recommendations?
Here are the teas I like and don't like to give you an idea of my preference. Am I headed in the right direction?
- Boisahabi Malty TGBOP : This is my favorite flavor of the ones I've tried. I like toffee and wood/tobacco flavor. It's quite astringent though, high in caffeine and gets me a bit dizzy.
- Mokalbari SFTGFOP1: My second favorite for flavor, slight astringency, but still a bit mild.
- Harmutty STGFOP1S: It has a good woody flavor, but still kind of mild to me.
- Halamari TGFOP1: Thought this would be THE one (read so much about it), but too sweet.
- Mangalam FTGFOP1`: I like this one too, but it's a bit mild.
- Doomni Gold GTGFBOP: Another great one for flavor. But, it's BOP and high in caffeine.
- Marangi SFTGFOP: There was very little astringency which I like, but it was too mild.
- Chota Tingrai FTGFOP1: I found this too mild, bland, and more astringency than I prefer.
I would appreciate any thoughts/suggestions. Thank you for your help.
Another way to decrease astringency in Assam is of course to lower steeping time and try gongfu brewing.