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No. 36

Assam Breakfast - Loose Leaf Tea

Indian Black Tea Blend

With its bold, dark leaves and invigorating, malty flavour, this Assam Breakfast blend is the perfect brew to perk up your morning.

From: Assam, India

Delivery Info

Shipping policy

 

 UK Deliveries

Method

Cost

Carrier

Transit time

Standard

£3.50, Free - over £35

Royal Mail

2-5 days, Tracked

Tracked

£6.50, Free - over £100

DPD

1-3 days, Tracked

Next-Working-Day

£9.95

DPD

Orders placed before 2pm, Delivered Monday - Friday, Tracked

Saturday

£15.00

DPD

Orders placed before 2pm, Saturday delivery, Tracked

 *Most deliveries will be made within the usual time frame, but some areas and services may experience delays.

 

European Deliveries


Currently, there are some delays with sending parcels to EU countries from the UK. This is due to the UK leaving the European Union. We will keep you updated with any notifications as they happen.

Please note that a tracking number is not provided for EU Standard deliveries. 

CUSTOMS CHARGES: All commercial goods arriving from the UK are subject to VAT, Import Duty and a handling fee in the country receiving the goods.

Method

Cost

Carrier

Transit time

Standard

From £5.50

Royal Mail

3-7 days, up to 21*, Not Tracked (Offered for orders less than £50 only)

Economy

From £5.50

Royal Mail

3-7 days, up to 21*, Not Tracked (Offered for orders less than £50 only)

Tracked

From £15.95

Fedex

3-5 days, up to 8*, Tracked

*Most deliveries will be made within the usual time-frame, but some areas and services may experience delays.

Customers Ordering From Ireland - Please Note: Due to recent restrictions we are unable to ship Chinese teas to Ireland at this present time.

 

Rest of the World

 

Method

Cost

Carrier

Transit time

Standard

From £4.00

Royal Mail

8-15 days, up to 30*, Not Tracked (Offered for orders less than £50 only)

USA tracked

From £15.00

Fedex

2-3 days, up to 7*, Tracked

ROW Tracked

From £18.95

Fedex

1-5 days, up to 5*, Tracked

 *Most deliveries will be made within the usual time frame, but some areas and services may experience delays.

 

International Buyers (Including EU) – Please Note:


Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be before buying.

Customers Ordering From Ireland - Please Note: Due to recent restrictions we are unable to ship Chinese teas to Ireland at this present time.

If you have any questions, please contact us via sales@theteamakers.co.uk | 01322284923

*We aim to dispatch all orders within 1-2 days of receiving your request. However, this can vary during peak times and other conditions outside of our control. Therefore, the below estimates of shipping times have been provided by our couriers.

The origins of our Assam Breakfast Tea


Bold, brisk and malty, our loose-leaf Assam Breakfast tea is a robust blend of fine Indian tea with aromas of dark fruit and caramel. Everyone should have a caddy of this single origin black tea in their cupboard – with its bright and robust flavours. It's an essential morning wake-up call.

Harvested in the summer from select tea gardens in the famous Assam region, this blend of tea leaves is characterised by short, dark rolled leaves and a beautiful bright amber-coloured infusion. While our Assam Breakfast Tea really comes into its own on a cold winter's morning, it can equally be served throughout the day: mid-morning with a pastry or as an afternoon pick-you-up, perhaps. One of the most versatile black teas, Assam Breakfast Tea, can even be served as a palate cleanser for spicy dishes!

Our loose-leaf Assam blend exhibits all the rich, bold qualities that have made Assam such a popular morning brew. It also helps get your day off to the right start, containing plenty of polyphenols, antioxidants associated with disease-fighting properties and other health benefits such as reduced cholesterol and healthy heart function.

Learn more about Assam teas

This tea incorporates the best of the two tea production methods: the time-honoured orthodox process, where leaves are withered, dried and rolled; and CTC (Crush Tear Curl), the way in which most Assam teas are made.

Our Assam Breakfast blend is made from 80% smaller orthodox leaves to ensure the highest quality, with 20% CTC leaves incorporated for an extra flavour punch. If you like a strong, full-bodied cup of black tea, this no-nonsense brew is for you.


What is Assam tea?


Assam tea is the backbone of many a breakfast blend. Characterised by dark leaves and a robust character, this popular morning brew takes its name from the steamy tropical lowland areas of Assam in north-eastern India. It was here, in the shadow of the Himalayas, that British colonists established the first tea plantations in the 1830s, leading to the global industry we know today.

Cut by the mighty Brahmaputra river and renowned for its forests, wetlands and floodplains, Assam has a climate dominated by heavy rainfall and high humidity. The variety of tea bush grown in the wildlife-rich Assam region differs from the Camellia sinensis plant the British knew from China. Officially classified as the assamica variety of Camellia sinensis, this tea bush has broader leaves, is more robust, and can grow to over nine metres high.

As the British discovered, assamica successfully produced the intense leaves suited to breakfast and masala teas served with milk. That success has seen Assam evolve into the world’s largest tea-producing region, comprising some 800 tea estates which sit at sea level on its fertile, loamy soil.

While some Assam teas are manufactured according to the orthodox method, production here is dominated by the CTC method of initiating oxidation. A mass-production technique introduced in the 1930s, CTC sees the leaves run through machines with cylindrical rollers that turn them into pellet forms, creating a strong, sometimes slightly bitter flavour. These are the leaves that find their way into most of the world’s big-brand tea bags and form the base of many of the most famous breakfast blends.


Other strong Indian black breakfast teas


There’s plenty more to explore from India’s largest tea region. For another rich, malty example, try our Golden Valley Assam. Alternatively, Assam Thowra, Manjushree and Meleng are delightful second-flush teas, while Mangalam is an outstanding example, offering an abundance of golden tips. Alternatively, sample our best selling English Breakfast tea.

Discover Assam’s rich history, geography and more Tea Makers blends made with this characterful leaf in our Tea Journal. If you’re keen to try a range of teas in the same vein, why not try our Classic Black Tea Discovery Collection, which contains sample pouches of five different teas.

Ingredients


Pure Indian black tea

Tasting notes


This tea offers a spicy and dried stone fruit aroma and deep amber infusion. A strong, full-bodied and malty cup with caramel and raisin mouthfeel.

Region


The state of Assam is bordering the Himalayas and Bhutan on its northern boundary, and Bangladesh to the South . It is connected to West Bengal via the Siliguri Corridor, a 14 miles wide strip of land that links the Eastern states to the rest of India, above Bangladesh. The Brahmaputra River, which originates on the Tibetan side of the Himalayas, crosses the northern part of the state, carrying runoff from the high peaks.

Learn more about the Assam Region of India

In the Assam valleys, the River is fed further by abundant rainfall that flood the plains, before running through Bangladesh to the Ganges Delta. The climate there is generally humid subtropical (Cfa), with the year split between wet and dry season. The wet season, between April and October, is extremely wet, oppressive and overcast, with 100% humidity for over 4 months, and very little air circulation. Assam experiences the highest rainfall of all Indian states, with severe flooding is a common occurrence.

The dry season is warm and mostly clear, still with very little wind. Throughout the year, the temperatures typically range between lows of 11°C and highs of 31°C, with temperature rarely exceeding 35°C. The high levels of rainfall create a fertile wetland which is known for its exceptional biodiversity. The hillier districts towards the South of the state, with elevations of 600m, experience a temperate climate (Cfb), with milder temperatures. The rich soils of Assam are covered by forests, a mixture of tropical evergreens and deciduous forests, swamps and grasslands. Bamboo, orchids and ferns grow in abundance, There are numerous wildlife sanctuaries, protecting tigers, leopards, rhinos and elephants.

Assam is famous for its silk and, of course, its teas. Although a mere 280 miles from Darjeeling, India’s other famous tea-growing region, Assam produces a very distinctive tea, with rich, malty notes, contrasting with the Darjeeling muscatel and floral notes. Due to the differences in topography, the tea bushes of Assam grow in higher temperatures, in a soil that is rich in nitrogen and organic matter. The Camellia sinensis assamica thrives in these conditions, producing larger leaves with robust flavours.

How to brew

3g - 4g

3g - 4g

100°C

100°C

200ml

200ml

4 - 5mins

4 - 5mins

Assam Breakfast - Loose Leaf Tea has a rating of 4.8 stars based on 93 reviews.