Review: “American Breakfast” and “More Amor” Assams

Tea: “American Breakfast” and “More Amor”

Type: Assams

Vendor: The Simple Leaf

AMERICAN BREAKFAST:

Until this very moment, I did not really understand what people were talking about when they referred to Assams as “malty” at times.

Holy yum.  I’m sitting here, just smelling the dry leaf of this ”American Breakfast” Assam tea by The Simple Leaf.  I want very much to brew and drink this tea, as well, but right now I’m content to just be floored by the scent.

It’s “malty” in the sense of ever-so-slightly fermented sweet grain of the sort you can find being fed to horses, in my opinion.  Not so much true “malt” as “sweet fermenting grain” of some variety.  As usual, my strange “horse” and “barn” analogies are *compliments* to this tea, not marks against it.  Smelling this reminds me very strongly of being little and visiting my aunt’s nice, clean horse barn early on a summer morning while she was doing the feeding.

Only, with a “tea” undercurrent.

Maybe a bit prosy–do forgive me, I have an atrophied brain due to being an English lit/Classics major.  Still, I’m loving the scent of this tea.

It’s also very attractive–a dark, dark brown and very uniform, with little bits that I can only assume are portions of tightly rolled leaves and that remind me of Grape-Nuts, of all things.  Super cute, and interesting, if a bit unusual.

The parameters were about a teaspoon of tea into about seven ounces of water just off the boil, for about two minutes in a single-serving Bodum coffee-press.  These two minutes were a little confusing, since they were filled with…dancing Grape-Nuts.  The little bits floated around and got bigger and puffier and Grape-Nuttier, but they didn’t “unfurl.” 

Curious, I poured off the tea (nope, didn’t press it, no worries), which is a gorgeous coppery red-brown colour, clear and lovely.  I then examined the little tea-bits and discovered that they were actually very small leaf pieces that were apparently pressed and formed into these cute, irregular little tea-bits.  The bits disintegrated when prodded, but not in the water…intriuging.

The proof, of course, is in the tea, which was *super!*  Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I got this excited about a black tea.  I knew immediately upon drinking it that I wanted no milk or sugar–this tea needed none!  It was very smooth, and very sweet, of all things.  In fact, I did a double-take at first sip to see if I *had* added milk and sugar.  This is a big deal for me, as black teas have always been a strong, slightly bitter milk-and-sugar delivery system, not a standalone.  This is definitely a standalone.

There is only the tiniest bit of back-of-the throat tannic dryness to this tea–the rest is all smooth, sweet flavour.  Tons of flavour, too, and a very full mouthfeel, not thin at all.

This tea is *holding my attention,* which heretofore has only been something that good greens, whites, an puerhs could do.  Black tea was always like coffee or water–just another thing in a cup at my desk to drink unthinkingly.  Turns out this wasn’t “black” tea’s fault…it was just a question of getting better black tea.

Seriously, though, miles away from teabags, miles!  The wet tea leaves smell even more like the grainy-malty-loveliness I mentioned earlier. 

(Confession: I made another cup.  It takes milk and sugar quite well.  I couldn’t resist!  Still, I’m pleased and surprised to note that I like it *better* on its own.)

MORE AMOR:

Same malty scent in the bag, but more delicate, somehow.   This tea is billed as a “Mild” where the American Breakfast was billed as a “Bold,” and it turns out that’s really the case.

The taste is similar in ethos (essential character, pardon my Greek) to the American Breakfast, so I have now begun to learn what makes an Assam an Assam.  (This specific black tea stuff is completely new to me.  I’m glad I’m starting with type-specific blends as opposed to, say, single plantation & flush pickings, as I think they would be utterly lost on me at this point.)

It is milder, though, and slightly thinner-feeling in the mouth.  The sweetness is there, but not so pronounced, if only because the taste of the Assam maltiness is not so strong here.  The tea is made up of smallish leaf-pieces which aren’t rolled or pressed this time–larger “chunks” of leaf than the American Breakfast, but they’re individual as opposed to collected into, umm, Grape-Nuts. 

There’s a slight “golden” overtone as well, which is very pleasant.  I’m sorry that I don’t know how to describe it other than “golden,” but I’m trying to address a certain warm-vegetative-cream-muted brightness, if that makes sense.

Another standalone and another very pleasant tea–this one strikes me as a possibility for a truly superior iced black tea.  I think I preferred the strength and “punch” of the bolder American Breakfast, but this was nice, as well.