Today's Tea: Assam Banaspaty

Assam Banaspaty from DAVIDsTEA

Description: From the little Banaspaty estate in the Karbi Anglong district of India, this impressive Assam has a naturally sweet and malty body, a full red colour and a complexity that can handle a nice splash of milk. Perfect for breakfast or afternoon tea. (MK Kosher)

Ingredient: Fine black tea from the Banaspaty Estate in Assam, India.

Caffeine: 2 (Medium caffeine)

How to Brew: 1 tsp     98°C/208°F     4-6 min

(From DAVIDsTEA: Assam Banaspaty)

Steph's Thoughts:
This little tea fell out of my cupboard when it was afternoon tea time, so I figured it was a sign.

Assam Banaspaty is an unflavoured black tea from the Northeast corner of India. It is reminiscent of Red Rose tea (the kind that comes in a bag), but with more of an oomph, and less siltyness. I think this comes from the fact that I used whole dried leaves, whereas most teabags have some tea dust or fannings in them. That's not to say that they're lower quality (though sometimes that is, in fact, the case). Whole cinnamon tastes different than ground cinnamon, for example. Whole leaf tea tastes different than smaller-leaf tea. I know it sounds weird, but .... it really does.

I had a few sips, decided it needed sweetener because it was a little bitter, and then had a few more sips. I then decided to add some milk. The milk mellows the flavour, and gives it a smoothness that is really quite lovely. It has a bit of a honey aftertaste.
This is the kind of tea that I can imagine brewing in a big teapot and serving for Afternoon Tea, with little sandwiches (ooh, cucumber and tuna.....) and dainty cookies. Oooh, Oma's butter cookies....
Hoooooly cow. Not only am I salivating over my tea, but I am salivating over the prospect of butter cookies. I feel like baking now.

Also, I learned several things while writing this review! I was going to write a long paragraph on the comparison between Assam Banaspaty and Red Rose Orange Pekoe, which is the kind of black tea I drank as a child. I still probably could. But anyway...

 I learned that Orange Pekoe isn't a FLAVOURING of black tea - it's a denotation of exactly which leaf on the plant is picked and used for the tea, and the quality of said leaf.

I've always wondered where the term "ORANGE" pekoe came from, if it wasn't actually flavoured with orange at all. According to Wikipedia, the term was coined by Sir Thomas Lipton, and could refer to one of two things:

1. The Dutch House of Orange-Nassau, now the royal family, was already the most respected aristocratic family in the days of the Dutch Republic, and came to control the de facto head of state position of Stadtholder of Holland and Zealand. The Dutch East India Company performed a central role in bringing tea to Europe and may have marketed the tea as "orange" to suggest association with the House of Orange.
2. Color: The copper color of a high-quality, oxidized leaf before drying, or the final bright orange color of the dried pekoes in the finished tea may be related to the name. These usually consist of one leaf bud and two leaves covered in fine, downy hair. The orange color is produced when the tea is fully oxidized.

You learn new things every day!!

I honestly have no idea which leaf they use to make this tea, or whether it's a pekoe or a souchong. But.... it's pretty awesome!!

Hey, I wonder if I could ask DT..... *tweets them, awaits response*

Verdict: Win on all levels!