VAHDAM, Assam Black Tea Leaves (340g/12oz) 170+ Servings | High Caffeine, Non GMO, Gluten Free | STRONG, MALTY & RICH | Pure Unblended Single Origin Black Loose Leaf Tea | Vacuum Sealed

Delicious. My favorite rose tea. The scent alone of Vahdam's Blooming Rose is out of this world. The saffron and cardamom really enhance the rose flavor, in my opinion - of course, your mileage may vary, since saffron can be a bit of an odd taste! I know that at first I wasn't in love with the saffron part, but it's completely won me over, and again, the scent? Perfection.

Let's start with the packaging: This tea comes vacuum sealed in a nice package that "pops" when you cut the seal. It has a very long neck so that, after you cut it open, you have a nice long top to pour it into the container it's going to stay in. Vahdam has included a thick, dark plastic, zip top bag for you. The bag is folded up inside the cardboard box and unlabeled. But never fear: There is a VERY LARGE full color label that looks just like picture on the box.I peeled this label and applied it to the zip top bag, then poured the pound of tea into it. It seals solidly and is light proof. This is a great addition so the tea will stay fresh for a long time.The taste and smell: Initially I was a little put off by the "flowery" smell of this tea. I have only had a few other Assam teas, so I'm not sure what a very high quality Assam should smell like. This has kind of a sharp note, as opposed to the warm notes I get from Ceylon tea.I initially used about the recommended amount of tea: Approximately 4 grams for 12 to 14 oz of water. The recommendation is 2 grams for 7 oz of water. I use a bigger cup!That cup of tea was flowery at first and then a little bit malty as it cooled. It was fine, but not really what I wanted.For my next cup the following day I used more like 5.5 grams for 12 to 14 oz of water. This cup was very different. Very little flower taste. The malt became much more prominent and increased as the tea cooled. The flower and (very mild) astringency showed up in the after taste. This was a much more satisfying cup of tea for me. I like malt and this muted malt was nice and seemed to keep changing as I drunk it. The last few sips seemed to have a (very mild) chocolate flavor.For me, using a good bit more than the recommended amount of tea is the way to drink it. I like this tea and will be drinking more.So a very nice tasting Assam with the best, most useful, packaging I have ever seen. Recommended!

Favorite loose tea!

Ok I have been using this tea for about 2 years or so now, have previously used Harney and Sons and Rishi, this tea is significantly more expensive than Harney and like wise less expensive than Rishi. Overall the quality of the tea is excellent, the blending and amount of bergamot oil is just about spot on. It is an absolute necessity to keep the tea leaves properly, the flavor will degrade rather quickly if you do not keep the tea sealed tightly.What we do is vacuum seal about 1/2 the bag and use the open half, however if we made 2 cups side by side with a brand new bag and the tea from the previous batch it becomes very obvious that the tea flavor is not the same. My only problem with this company is that they switched from 16 oz bags to 12 oz bags and the price stayed the same. Which means they raised the price 25% and didn't say anything about it, just repackaged it in a bit of a different way, if your going to do that at least be upfront with your customers, they are in fact the life of your business. Anyway it is an excellent tea and I think you will like it.

I love masala chai and have mixed my own spices on occasion, so I'm a self-admitted fan of chai, but this tea is an outstanding discovery. It's the Rolls-Royce of chai! The spices are well blended, and assertive but not overly strong or rough. The tea itself is flavorful and has a rich depth (sorry, I don't speak tea-taster). It makes you notice your tea, and feel special.The company is committed to supporting workers and the environment, which makes IT special.

Not just a tea broker. Company creates jobs for local families on their own tea plantations and a portion of proceeds goes to the childrens' education. Clean large leaves in quality packaging, a large bag, not fancy tins. I use the Assam for chai.

I’ve been drinking black tea made with loose leaves for 50 years. This tea blend of Darjeeling and Assam is without doubt my all time favorite. It has a complex flavor and fragrance and only mild bitterness—just enough. I usually drink it iced and it is robust enough to stand up to that. It is well packaged for freshness. I take out a few week’s supply to my tea jars and keep the rest tightly wrapped up and in the box it came in.

Love the taste.