TeaHQ

Assam orthodox tippy

Orthodox-manufactured Assam sorted for a high proportion of golden bud, sold under grade codes like TGFOP and SFTGFOP. The tips are unopened buds covered in fine down; they brew paler and sweeter than the leaf around them, which is why a tippy grade is softer than its colour suggests.

Black teaBold intensityAccessible to appreciateForgiving to brew
Brew at 95–100 °CUse 1–1.5 g per 100 mlFirst steep 180sWestern brewing (teapot or mug)Full schedule and equipment →

Character

Assam’s malt with the edges taken off. The golden tips add honey and body without the astringency that makes ordinary Assam demand milk.

Flavour
Sweet, Fruity, Nutty
Aroma
Honeyed, Malty
Mouthfeel
Full bodied, Smooth, Rich
Complexity
Moderate
Notes
honey, malt, dried apricot
Aftertaste
Sweet and rounded, with less of Assam’s usual grip.

Bold intensity: full-bodied, astringent or bitter enough to lead the cup.

Provenance and production

Origin
India
Region
Assam
Oxidation
Fully oxidised
Harvest
Second flush
Processing
Withering → Orthodox processing → Oxidation → Drying

Brewing

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

  • Judging the grade by how many golden tips are visible — grade codes describe leaf size and appearance, not cup quality.

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 second flush

    The tips take the edge off. Once the malt is familiar, the untippy second flush is the same tea with its astringency intact.

  • Assam golden tips

    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.

Similar sensory profile

Shares controlled flavour, aroma and mouthfeel descriptors. A looser match — two teas can share descriptors and still taste nothing alike.

  • Assam clonal

    Shares 7 descriptors with Assam orthodox tippy: sweet, fruity, nutty, full bodied, smooth, malty and honeyed.

  • Yunnan Bai Hao black

    Shares 7 descriptors with Assam orthodox tippy: sweet, fruity, nutty, full bodied, rich, honeyed and malty.

  • Aged Shou Mei

    Shares 6 descriptors with Assam orthodox tippy: sweet, fruity, full bodied, smooth, rich and honeyed.

  • Aged white tea cake

    Shares 6 descriptors with Assam orthodox tippy: sweet, fruity, full bodied, rich, smooth and honeyed.

  • Dian Hong

    Shares 6 descriptors with Assam orthodox tippy: sweet, full bodied, smooth, rich, honeyed and malty.

  • Dong Ding

    Shares 6 descriptors with Assam orthodox tippy: nutty, sweet, fruity, full bodied, smooth and rich.

Compare this tea with another

Written comparisons

Where TeaHQ has set this tea against another in full, rather than deriving the comparison.

  • Supermarket tea vs speciality tea — The gap is real and it is not where most people think. It is almost entirely about leaf grade and freshness rather than about origin or price alone.

Journeys featuring this tea