Organic Assam from two leaves and a bud

Measure: 1 tea bag (approx. 1 tsp) to 12 oz. boiling water.
Steeped: 4 minutes
Teaware: Travel mug

Bess from two leaves and a bud (I have to apologize for not capitalizing the company name – the company doesn’t use capital letters for their name, which I find annoying), was kind enough to send me samples of their tea sachets to try. I haven’t used tea bags in a long time, so I was a little skeptical when I saw the box of tea bags she sent. After a closer look, I was impressed to see actual tea leaves in the little pyramid sachets, rather than just tea dust and fannings.

I decided to start with the Organic Assam because I’m predominantly a black tea drinker, and love to start my day with something bold and malty. Some of the leaves in the sachet had been crushed, which is to be expected with soft packaging. I’m assuming the boxes these normally come in would protect the leaves better. The scent of the sachet when I took it out of the package was light, but definitely distinguishable as an assam.The flavor of the brewed tea was lighter than I expected, but I realized that was partially my error. When I’m making loose tea, my teaspoons are “heaping”, whereas the amount in the bag was a normal teaspoon. I should have brewed it for the full 5 minutes rather than my normal 4. The second thing is, in my experience, organic teas do typically have a lighter flavor (teas notably marked as “organic”, anyway).

Aside from the introverted tendencies, the tea does have good flavor. It’s unassuming, quietly malty, with a good pepper front and a slightly astringent finish. There’s nothing really complex or interesting about it, but it’s certainly better than your average supermarket tea, and definitely an option for travel or rushed mornings.

I’ll be interested to see how the rest of the sachets from this company measure up, and I look forward to trying their loose tea as well.