Assam golden tips
The highest orthodox grades of Assam, sorted for a high proportion of golden bud. The tips add sweetness and a honeyed roundness that ordinary Assam does not have, softening the malt without removing it, and the grade abbreviation on the packet is describing exactly this.
Character
Assam with the edges taken off: the same malt and weight, plus a honeyed sweetness from the bud content. This is what the long grade abbreviations are actually measuring, and the one case where they map reasonably well onto the cup.
- Flavour
- Chocolate, Fruity, Sweet
- Aroma
- Malty, Honeyed
- Mouthfeel
- Full bodied, Rich, Smooth
- Complexity
- Layered
- Notes
- malt, honey, raisin, cocoa
- Aftertaste
- Malty and sweet, with a rounder finish than standard Assam.
Bold intensity: full-bodied, astringent or bitter enough to lead the cup.
Provenance and production
- Origin
- India
- Region
- Assam
- Cultivar
- Camellia sinensis var. assamica
- Oxidation
- Fully oxidised
- Harvest
- Second flush
- Processing
- Withering → Rolling and shaping → Oxidation → Drying
Brewing
Western brewing (teapot or mug)
1–1.5 g/100 ml · 95–100 °C · 1 authored infusion
No caffeine estimate is authored for this tea. TeaHQ does not infer one from its category, because category predicts caffeine poorly — matcha and gyokuro carry more than many black teas.
Common mistakes
- Putting milk in it, which erases exactly what was paid for
If you like this
Grouped by why they were suggested, strongest reason first. Nothing here is a blended score — a suggestion appears under the best reason that exists for it, and never under a weaker one as well.
Editorially linked
Someone wrote down why these two belong together. The note below is theirs.
- Assam orthodox tippy
Two names for the same thing — Assam sorted for a high proportion of golden bud. Grade codes and marketing names are used interchangeably here and mean roughly the same.
- Yunnan Bai Hao black
Two bud-heavy blacks from India and Yunnan, both softened considerably by the golden tip content.
Similar sensory profile
Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.
- Dian Hong
Shares 7 descriptors with Assam golden tips: sweet, chocolate, full bodied, smooth, rich, honeyed and malty.
- Aged Shou Mei
Shares 6 descriptors with Assam golden tips: sweet, fruity, full bodied, smooth, rich and honeyed.
- Aged white tea cake
Shares 6 descriptors with Assam golden tips: sweet, fruity, full bodied, rich, smooth and honeyed.
- Assam clonal
Shares 6 descriptors with Assam golden tips: sweet, fruity, full bodied, smooth, malty and honeyed.
- Golden Needle
Shares 6 descriptors with Assam golden tips: sweet, chocolate, full bodied, rich, honeyed and malty.
- Hong Shui Dong Ding
Shares 6 descriptors with Assam golden tips: sweet, fruity, full bodied, smooth, rich and honeyed.