This Assam comes from the second flush harvest, picked between mid-May and June once the leaves have had time to mature — the flush tea drinkers who favour Assam tend to prize most, even if Darjeeling fans usually reach for first flush. It's graded FTGFOP1, Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, a grade known for its high proportion of golden tips. Those tips soften the cup, giving a rounder, milder character than you'd expect from a typical brisk Assam. In the glass it still reads unmistakably malty, with a rich, full body that traditionalists look for, alongside notes of lemon, orange, honey, milk, malt and coffee running through the liquor.
Tea & Coffee packs this one fresh to order at its Kent factory, which keeps consistency from batch to batch. Like most black teas it carries a fair amount of caffeine, roughly 45mg in an 8-oz cup, enough for a proper morning lift without tipping into jitteriness. It's also rich in polyphenols such as theaflavins and thearubigins, the compounds behind black tea's colour and body, which have long been credited with supporting general wellbeing, though that's worth treating as traditional lore rather than a guarantee.
To brew it, spoon the leaves into an infuser or filter, set it in a mug, and pour over freshly boiled water. Give it about four minutes to steep — long enough to draw out the malt and body without turning the cup harsh. From there the choice is yours: a splash of milk brings out the honey and malt side, while lemon sharpens the citrus notes already present in the leaf. It holds up fine on its own too, taken black.
