Maddhurjya Gogoi, a tea producing friend in Assam, recently sent me some tea to try and review. It's been awhile since I've tried Assam on this level, or any Assam, really. I've been through a few cycles of checking out teas from there, so the range is familiar, but I've been mostly on sheng pu'er for a number of years now. I've already tried this tea, before tasting it to write review notes, so I know how it works out; it's pretty good, as I would've expected.
I met Maddhurjya on a visit here once before; he's such a nice guy. Their tea production theme and philosophy is a familiar one, moving to create much better quality, organically produced teas from plants that were producing more ordinary versions earlier on. They've been at it awhile, allowing time for experimenting with different processing techniques, changing processing equipment use (much earlier on), or even changing plant type inputs. We didn't discuss all that again; this will just be about the tea.
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Maddhurjya is second from right, beside Kittichai, the Jip Eu shop owner |
The packaging mentions a number of branding and company names; it's described as Lu Ma Whole Leaf Assam Orthodox, Hand Crafted Black Tea, from MG TE, produced by Chah Bari, operated by Gogoi and Sons, under Assam Teehaus. The last one is familiar. They're in Dabohibil Village (Assam, of course).
In the past their tea versions have held their own against any other highest quality Assam I've tried. Next one might wonder about placing that in relation to Darjeeling, or Chinese teas, or from elsewhere. Assam is interesting and novel for including a variation of maltiness that comes across much differently in whole-leaf, higher quality versions than in relatively ground leaf tea forms. The astringency drops out almost completely, reduced to a fullness of mouthfeel effect, so that flavor input stands alone more, combined with better sweetness and other range. Flavors tend to include dried fruit along with a mineral undertone base.
I've still not covered if the quality level or general appeal can match that of good black tea elsewhere. Style and aspect variations stand out more than quality level, which varies within any kinds of categories. To me it's fair to either associate or separate whole-leaf tea production from other quality inputs, depending on what you mean, how you want to use that umbrella term (quality). Broken leaf tea tends to not be as good as whole leaf versions, although there would be plenty of exceptions to that on both ends, just amazing broken or cut up leaf tea (like most tea from Japan, for example), or plenty of whole leaf versions that just aren't that good.
Beyond that, comparing like for like, more whole leaf versions from Assam versus Darjeeling, China, Taiwan, Thailand, or wherever else, quality can vary, but in general aspects shift by local plant type, growing conditions, and processing inputs, more than some from a location tends to be better or worse (as represented by the best versions, of course). Darjeeling doesn't express the same flavor range, or as much intensity (at least in one sense), but refined and very pronounced fruit flavors with good sweetness can stand out more. Nepal teas can be fantastic in a different way, maybe a little closer to Darjeeling in character, but also just their own thing.
This tea description will help place all that. I'll brew it Gongfu style, which is a normal approach for me for higher quality, whole leaf black teas. Water is not far off boiling, and proportion higher than most people would use, probably 7 grams for a 100 ml gaiwan, brewing in less water than that, since that measurement tends to relate to the volume to the top, not how much you use.
Review:
First infusion: malt hits you first; the usual. Of course it's a soft and mild version of malt, not the type with a bit of edge, that seems to somehow pair with the astringency. The depth of this tea is nice, the way layers of aspects combine to provide a really complex experience. Warm mineral tones seem to support it as a base, but there is range one might interpret as either aromatic tropical wood or spice. Mind you this tea is just getting started; it's not even fully wetted yet.
Fruit isn't as pronounced, at least yet, but one part tastes a little like dried tamarind. Even though this first round is brewed a little light the feel is already rich and full, and aftertaste lingers on. It's hard to describe why that matters in tea experience; how it supports a more complete experience. The tea drinking experience can seem more limited without those extra dimensions, as a quick flash of a few positive flavors, versus an experience of more depth, when they're present (fuller feel and aftertaste).
I just reviewed two Chinese oolong versions, presented as being two different quality levels by the vendor, or at least that was implied in a cost difference. A Tie Guan Yin version didn't include any more aftertaste experience than this, even though usually that's more noteworthy in that range of oolongs than in good Indian black teas, and then the other, a Dan Cong, compared more favorably.
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some color difference is from inconsistent camera settings, which I'm not editing to correct |
Second infusion: depth picks up, which wasn't exactly a limitation that first round. What I'm describing as warm mineral tones, working as a base, combined with dark tropical wood or spice range, similarly more a context background than forward element, really needs even more unpacking, but I'm not sure if I can add a list of extra descriptions or concepts to help with that. It's interesting how really good Darjeeling can seem to dazzle you with a complex range of pronounced, higher end fruit and floral tones, with pleasant deeper range supporting and balancing that, along with great sweetness, and then this is the opposite; the depth itself stands out. The higher end might be drifting some to a warm dried citrus peel aspect, with dried tamarind fruit still present, but not overly pronounced. Then that deeper range is more complex and intense.
I hadn't really thought of all this in those terms before but this may relate to what I love so much about Dian Hong, Yunnan black tea, that it covers both ranges equally. Some versions can have a nice forward aspect, with less base, and it's more common for others to include a lot of warmer, deeper structure, mineral tones, mild and deep fruit elements, earthy range, etc., missing balance in what I'm describing spatially as a high end. But often it just balances. The different flavor range of roasted yam, roasted sweet potato, cacao, and mild spice is well suited for expression as pronounced aspects and deeper tones.
Back to this version, it's not unbalanced, because sweetness and lighter flavors are also present. But one more cacao element, a touch of raisin, or a little extra other fruit or spice would balance it to expressing forward notes just as much as depth. Often the more forward aspects can fade while depth picks up over rounds; it will be interesting to see how this changes in relation to that, if the deeper tones really dominate more later, or if the opposite somehow occurs.
third infusion: the more forward flavor aspects transitioning round to round offsets some of the pattern I'm describing here, the depth standing out more. There is still a faint edge of warm dried citrus in this, and more that relates to something like dried tamarind (more to place that range; it might differ slightly from that), but more of an autumn leaf tone is picking up, a sweetness and richness across an unusual vegetal range, that's really in between fruit and vegetal ranges.
Permit me a tangent about fallen leaves; the scent of tropical tree and plant leaves is much different than the range of those I experienced living in places like Pennsylvania and Colorado. PA had deep and rich, very complex, tree vegetation range, so the fragrance of walking in the woods in the fall, or even spring and summer, was very layered and complex. It's drier and less heavily forested in the high mountains in Colorado, so more spice-like, subtle, lighter fallen leaf scents would stand out. Since you adjust to the scent range you happen to be in, just as your eyes can relate equally well to a broad range of light levels, to some extent all this would become transparent, just the intensity range you're within just then.
The tropics are something else. Vegetation has a sweeter, more floral oriented scent range. It gives up the depth of a heavier, richer PA forest tone, and doesn't settle on the same lighter, almost spice-like range of CO forests, but in one sense fragrance is much more pronounced. Sweeping the leaves in the driveway almost makes you want to brew that and try it out. Some of that is from a range of types of flowers thriving at different times, or aromatic components of trees covering more range. Back in Hawaii that tied to seed pods seemingly related to tamarind or other fruits, but here in Bangkok the gardens at the house grow dozens of kinds of plants, papaya, banana, lime, and mango, flowering vines, palms, basil, and so on.
The depth of this tea ties to all that; in a sense it might be a mix of layers of tones that comes across as a base due to the diversity, since it's not that 3 or 4 of those stands out to seem more forward.
fourth infusion: I brewed this a little lighter, not varying infusion time to see how results vary, but it did work out like that. Brewed light the lighter flavors stand out more, and the warmer depth is less pronounced. I think this is more in line with how a lot of people brew most Chinese teas, to try to be clear. Intensity is still fine, but it would be easy for someone acclimated to mild black tea to like theirs brewed stronger.
Getting back to a flavor-list approach a round later might help keep this reading length in check, and describe transition patterns better. I'll get back to a 20-some second infusion time next round, brewing it on the stronger side again, since that works better as an experiential optimum for me.
fifth infusion: fruit range seemed to shift the most. What had been dried tamarind with some dried citrus peel might have transitioned a little towards plum. Of course heavier flavors picked up too, from increasing brewed strength, back to warm mineral tone standing out.
I'm not mentioning malt so much, for starting out by saying that's the main flavor aspect, right? It's there too, but it settles into more of a mid-range background context; all the rest stands out in relation to malt. Malt in CTC Assam seems to link to very dry flavor and astringent feel range, to astringency experience, and that's not present in that form here, since this has good feel structure but not that kind of edge. Here it's a little more like malted milk ball range, or the malt that gets added to a milkshake (not often enough; I miss that from my childhood), or in Ovaltine. That blends in better than the stronger and harsher variation; it's easier to almost miss it as one part that integrates with the rest.
sixth infusion: probably a good place to leave off; this is long enough, and it won't be as interesting a story how this fades over the next half dozen rounds. For brewing it strong it won't make it far past a dozen infusions. The more forward, higher end range is definitely not dropping out; there is plenty of fruit left in this, and other more vague but complex aromatic range.
Conclusions:
This is a really solid, high quality tea. In terms of a general quality level I don't think this is giving up much to other black teas anywhere. Flavor range and other character is different, varying naturally along with a range of inputs, but it's "as good" as any other black tea I've tried.
That's a real accomplishment; it can drop into the background as a natural outcome, that of course any tea can be really good. But so many inputs had to be controlled to go just right for that to happen. The tea plants themselves, growing conditions, processing choices, processing equipment used, storage conditions; it all had to go really well. Weather had to contribute positively; it's not as if all the conditions were something producers can control. Maddhurjya and his family did a great job.
There is always going to be one more version out there that's distinctive in some other way, or finer and finer quality level steps to climb. I'm not trying to say that this is the best possible orthodox Assam that could reach the market. It's pretty far up the scale; interesting, distinctive, balanced, and refined, lacking any noticeable flaws.
Sometimes I'll mention that pricing relates to the assumed quality level, that teas can be presented as one thing or another, like a Tie Guan Yin oolong version being sold as upper medium range, or a Dan Cong oolong selling as a similar thing, implied as better since the standard type quality range doesn't match directly, the scale of typical offerings. I don't keep up with how higher quality Assam maps out, or how many alternatives would be anything like this, or some even better (there always is more range). I suspect that awareness and demand for teas anything like this in both Indian and international markets is still limited, with the same being true in very different senses for Darjeeling, better Nepal versions, good Chinese black tea, and so on. For whatever reason sheng pu'er awareness and demand "blew up," just in a very limited sense, and oolongs have always been a favorite category of many.
Someday maybe specialty tea will have its moment, or maybe it will always be a niche interest. Either way in the meantime this is a good example of what most people are missing out on. That's too bad but not so bad, given how good Darjeeling and Chinese black teas, and the rest, all are in their own ways.
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the last time I saw these guys, just a few days ago, with more separation to follow |
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