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This large leaf, second flush tea produces a delightful amber brew that reveals bold, full flavours. Perfect when prepared with milk and sugar, Assam Leaf makes for a delicious tea that can be enjoyed at any time of the day.
Also available: Assam Leaf Tea Bag Bundle, containing 2x 125g bags of Assam Leaf and 100x Fill-Your-Own tea bags.
Ingredients
Black Indian Tea
Allergens
While we try to keep to the strictest standards in our treatment of allergens, please be aware that our factory handles nuts, milk and soy ingredients. Please check our ingredients lists for specific information on each tea.
Your Guide to Assam Tea
Sourced from the state of Assam in India, the world’s largest tea-growing region, Assam black tea is a full-bodied, strong, malty tea that frequently forms the base of breakfast teas.
The growing region is located along the Brahmaputra Valley River in Northern India, close to Myanmar and Bangladesh, where water is carried down from the Himalayas.
Assam tea leaves are grown from the Camellia sinensis plant, which benefits from the region’s ideal growing conditions: high levels of rainfall, and daytime temperatures that can rise to around 36 °C, creating the heat and humidity that allows the Camellia sinensis plant to flourish.
This climate, typical of the Assam region, gives the best Assam teas their characteristic maltiness and strong, bold flavours.
The History of Assam Tea
The introduction of Assam tea in Europe can be traced to Scottish gentleman and adventurer Robert Bruce, who is said to have first encountered the tea leaf in 1823 while trading in the Assam region. With the help of Maniram Dewan, an Assamese nobleman living at the time in British India, Bruce made contact with the local Singpho chief, Bessa Gam, and thereafter arranged for Gam and other local chiefs to provide him with leaf and seed samples of Assam tea. These samples were to be scientifically examined, but unfortunately Robert Bruce did not live to see the results, dying shortly after in 1824. It was Robert’s brother, Charles, who picked up the Assam tea endeavour, and the seed and leaf samples made their way to the botanical gardens in Calcutta, where it was identified for certain as a black tea variety: Camellia sinensis var assamica.
Through the work of Charles Bruce and the British East India Company's Tea Committee, cultivated Assam tea was first shipped to London in 1838. In the following years, several companies were incorporated into the endeavour: the Assam Tea Association in London and the Bengal Tea Association in Kolkata, both of which were then amalgamated into the Assam Tea Company.
The Assam Tea Company, which was the first company created for producing Assam tea and is the oldest commercial company producing Assam, was started in 1839, and dominated the production of Assam tea throughout the 1840s and 1850s.
How Assam Tea is Produced
Assam loose leaf tea is usually harvested twice each year, during the ‘first flush’ and ‘second flushes’ of the season. The first flush starts at the end of March and continues until the end of May, and produces the more tender, lighter leaves, while the second flush (which produces tippy Assam) takes place around June and results in sweeter, more full-bodied teas.
The climate of the Assam region contributes greatly to the tea’s depth of flavour and higher caffeine content; high rainfall, as much 250mm to 300mm per day during the monsoon period, and daytime temperatures that can reach up to around 36 °C (96.8 °F), create a tropical climate of ideal humidity and heat. The resulting depth of flavour, malty taste and caffeine content of Assam tea means that it has become a traditional base for many breakfast teas.
Types of Assam Tea
Loose Assam tea varies in flavour and appearance, with varieties made from a range of tea grades; from Assam BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe), to Bukhial TGFOP Assam Tea made from golden flowery pekoe leaves.
Below are some examples of Assam loose leaf teas:
This large leaf tea produces a delightful amber brew that reveals bold, full flavours. Perfect when prepared with milk and sugar, Assam Leaf makes for a delicious tea that can be enjoyed at any time of the day.
This full-bodied black tea lends its strength to English and Irish breakfast teas, but when prepared on its own it produces a wonderfully strong tea with delightful malty flavours and a lovely bright colour. This finest Assam BOP is of the highest quality, and guarantees a powerful and refreshing tea that can be enjoyed all through the day, brewed medium or strong.
Made from leaves that are grown in the warm, humid conditions of the Assam Valley, this strong black tea offers up rich and mature flavours. Top quality Pekoe Fannings provide added body to Assam PF, making for a perfect brew for getting you started in the morning.
This rare and sought-after tea from the prestigious Mancotta Tea Estate is produced from the unopened buds of luxury Assam white tea leaves, that are minimally processed because of their delicate nature. Assam Silver Needle White Tea yields a light-coloured liquor that has subtle notes of honey and malt, and a clean, floral aftertaste. A refreshing beverage to drink during the day or early evening.
Made from broken orange pekoe leaves, this delightful, well-rounded tea offers strong aromas and malty notes, a bright, coppery colour, and full-bodied, malty flavours that are great when enjoyed first thing in the day.
A luxury black tea, made from golden flowery pekoe leaves. Rich, strong and flavoursome, Bukhial TGFOP Assam Tea offers wonderful malty notes and a well-rounded finish, and is ideal when enjoyed first thing in the day.
A luxury black tea, sourced from India and made from broken orange pekoe leaves. Offering rich, malty notes, this tea is complex and well-rounded, and ideal to enjoy first thing in the day.
Reviews of Assam Tea
Below is a selection of comments from customers who have enjoyed some of our top-class Assam varieties:
Assam Leaf Tea
“Best cup of Assam I've ever tried. Lots of layers of flavour, really tasty.”
Michelle G. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“This tea brand is far superior in quality to normal shop-bought tea. It has a deep and pleasant malty taste, much to my satisfaction. It's the only thing that gets me going in the morning!”
Michael P. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Assam BOP Tea
“Excellent taste, colour, and bouquet. A refreshing brew that I drink when I need a boost. I'd recommend it to friends without hesitation.”
Mitch L. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“A treat, love this tea.”
Solveig F. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Assam PF Tea
“This is a proper Assam tiny leaf instant brew excellent flavour real pick you up morning tea.”
Jane R. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Love this Assam, it's rich and full-bodied.”
Michelle G. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bukhial TGFOP Assam Tea
“Exactly what I was expecting... packs a punch this tea. Great morning brew... with toast!”
Robert Q. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
FAQs
What does Assam tea taste like?
Assam black teas are strong and full-bodied, displaying wonderful malty flavours and rich, complex notes. Flavours can range from earthy, woody and smoky characteristics, to sweet and spicy, sometimes with notes of cocoa or caramel. These bold flavours make Assam teas ideal for breakfast teas, and it is a common ingredient in numerous tea blends, where it brings great depth and strength.
How should I prepare Assam loose leaf tea?
Assam tea should be prepared using freshly boiled water; filtered tap water or bottled spring water are the best options. Use one teaspoon (5 ml) of Assam loose leaf tea for every 200ml of freshly boiled water. Allow the tea leaves to steep at temperatures between 90 °C (194 °F) to 95 °C (203 °F), for between four and five minutes, but no longer as this may cause the tannins to produce a bitter taste. Remove the tea leaves using a strainer. Assam tea is very pleasant served black, but you can also enjoy Assam tea with milk or even sugar to taste. The strong flavours and delicious malty tastes of Assam tea, along with the higher caffeine content, mean that it is ideal served as a breakfast tea, but can also be enjoyed throughout the day.
Where can I buy the best Assam tea?
When sourcing the best Assam leaf tea online, you need look no further than Tea-Direct to find some of the finest Assam loose leaf teas available. You can browse our full range here.