Koilamari Estate TGFOP1

Dry Aroma: fruit/citrus
Brewed Aroma: malty, citrus
Color: deep reddish-brown
Flavor: malty, slightly cooked-fruity, good body and solid tannins, with a leathery and floral finish
Sweetened: maltier and leather notes more pronounced

The tannins in this tea are assertive when brewed for 4 ½ minutes.  The citrus in the aroma doesn’t carry through into the palate.  The tannins tended to overwhelm the other flavors, so perhaps a shorter brewing time is called for.  However, the body was just about right at this length, so shortening brewing to attenuate the tannins may leave the liquor thin.  Showed promise, but ultimately disappointed.  3 ½ out of 5.

Harmutty Estate STGFOP1(S)

Dry Aroma: tree fruit (apple, apricot)
Brewed Aroma: malty, creamy, some fruit
Color: deep reddish-brown
Flavor: malty, slightly tannic, slightly fruity, a bit light and thin on the palate
Sweetened: better fruit

In the first batch, I sampled the TGFOP grade from this estate.  This is much like it, to no surprise, and shares its lighter, thinner body.  Better overall flavor, though, with more subtlety and fruitiness.  Not a bad selection.  4 of 5.

Zaloni Estate TGFOP

Dry Aroma: herbal/green, leathery, earthy
Brewed Aroma: malt, earth, leather, slightly green
Color: bronze
Flavor: leather, earth, slightly malty, slightly green finish
Sweetened: tannic impact reduced, green flavors more to the foreground, slight fruit on finish

The liquor was a little blah when plain, but better when sweetened.  Flavors are a bit muted, overall.  This might be acceptable with sugar and lemon, but would not hold up to milk.  The flavor profile just doesn’t excite my palate – too much leather and earth which seems muddy.  3 out of 5.

Banaspaty Estate TGFOP1

Dry Aroma: malty, spicy
Brewed Aroma: malty, floral, vanilla spice
Color: deep copper
Flavor: restrained tannins, vanilla, slight spice, light body
Sweetened: same, but sweeter

This tea is just too bland, and the bolder leaf and very restrained tannin leads me to believe this needs a bit longer brewing time.  Even then, the flavors here are just uninspiring.  I will probably revisit this and extend the steeping to see if any more nuances can be wrung out of this Assam, but for right now it’s just “Meh.”  Not much to like or dislike.  2 ½ out of 5.

To sum up, not much here that I’d likely seek out again.  Out of eight teas, there had only been one that’s really struck me as interesting enough to keep around.  If you’re looking for an inviting and warm-flavored Assam, the Marangi Estate FTGFOP1 is definitely one to pick up.

Next time, we’ll sample a couple of Keemun teas from China.