Before I left L.A. I bought a large bag of Assam tea from the neighbourhood Indian market (on Venice at Motor, or Venice at Overland – I’ve forgotten the cross-street). It’s… not high-quality. That’s not to say that it isn’t good, only it’s not a ‘fine tea’. The bag was yellow and red. The tea looks like automatic-drip ground coffee. That is, it’s in little balls or pellets. The bag had a word on it that meant, ‘tea shaped into little pellets’.
Being lower in quality, I had no problem with putting into Zip-Lok bags and not drinking it as much as my other teas. It’s now my breakfast tea, until it’s gone. It’s a rather strong tea, with a somewhat ‘malty’ flavour. Quite drinkable with sugar and milk, and it only cost about $5.00 for two pounds.
Can’t help you with the brand (I’ve never heard of a rolled Assam!) but pretty much any Assam should be strong, malty and take sugar and milk well. $2 a pound is a rather attractive price point, though!
Dunno if that tells you anything you didn’t know, but it’s a bump, at least.
Absolutely. My good tea is $6.75 for 125g. But in the mornings I just want something strong and hot. If I can discover the brand name of this tea, then perhaps I can order it online. (If I knew the name of the store I could just call and ask them.)
I once bought a decent Assam, with a granular instant-coffee appearance, in an Indian grocery. It too came in a yellow and red (mostly yellow) box, with an inner bag of aluminum foil and wax paper, and a pre-stamped price in rupees. I certainly do remember the brand. It was Lipton. (Yes, same company as the supermarket brand, just the Indian branch.)
I don’t know if that’s the same stuff you bought, but if you find it, try it. They had a Darjeeling in a red box too; I didn’t try that.
I called, and they said it was Flower brand. Unfortunately that’s not an easy term to google, so I couldn’t find a photo of the bag. But he said that Flower comes in the two-pound yellow-and-red bags.
I found Flower Brand here. but $4.99 seems a little steep for 100 bags. I’ve never tried Assam tea but you’ve got me curious. It sounds like the perfect morning brew!
The tea I bought was loose, and came in one-pound and two-pound bags.
Indian tea is basically divided into two broad areas: North Indian, and South Indian. The largest region is the Assam Valley, which comprises at least seven distinct regions but are often lumped together. Assam teas are generally strong, intense, malty, bright and rich. They’re the traditional base for Irish Breakfast tea.
The Darjeeling District is the other region, and it is known for its excellent orthodox tea. (As opposed to CTC – ‘Cut, Torn, and Curled’.)
Other districts include Sikkim, similar to Darjeeling; Dooars, south of Darjeeling; Terai, also south of Darjeeling; and Nigiri, at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula.
