Assam tea is a black tea that’s one of the most well known teas in the world. Whether you like it hot or cold, it’s a great choice for everyday drinking.
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Assam Tea
- Assam tea is a bold, robust black tea.
- There’s caffeine in Assam tea.
- It’s named after the place where it is produced, Assam, India, which is the largest tea growing region in the world.
- The warm, wet climate of the Assam region contributes to the tea’s malty flavor.
- Assam tea is often in Earl Grey and Chai.
RELATED: How to Make Ceylon Tea Properly
Assam tea Brewing Guide
TO MAKE HOT ASSAM TEA
TEA: 1.5 teaspoons loose Assam tea or 1 tea sachet
WATER: 1 cup (8 fl. oz.)
WATER TEMPERATURE: 208°F
STEEP TIME: 5 minutes
TO MAKE COLD BREW ASSAM TEA
TEA: 1.5 teaspoons loose Assam tea or 1 tea sachet
WATER: 1 cup (8 fl. oz.)
WATER TEMPERATURE: Cold water
STEEP TIME: 12 hours
What You’ll Need
TO MAKE HOT ASSAM TEA
- Loose or sachet Assam tea
- Filtered water
- Teapot with strainer
- Electric kettle
A must have for all tea drinkers.
TO MAKE COLD BREW ASSAM TEA
My Assam Tea Pick:
How to Make HOT ASSAM TEA Properly
STEP 1: Boil water.
Since tea is made with just water and tea leaves, use good quality water. Use filtered water instead of tap water if possible.
I recommend using an electric kettle with a temperature setting so you can be more accurate with the water temperature. Set it to 208°F.
Boil some extra water to warm up the teapot.
STEP 2: Warm up teapot.
Pour a little freshly boiled water into the teapot. Swirl it around and then throw the water out.
I always include this step when I’m trying to brew tea properly. If you don’t warm up the teapot, there will be a big temperature drop while brewing the tea.
STEP 3: Put Assam tea into teapot and add hot water.
Tea Sommelier’s Tip: To make tea stronger, always add more tea instead of brewing it for longer. A longer brew time will only make your tea bitter, not stronger.
STEP 4: Cover teapot and steep for 5 minutes.
Make sure to keep the top securely on the teapot to make sure the tea stays hot.
STEP 5: Strain Assam leaves and pour hot tea into a teacup.
To sweeten your tea, add sugar, honey, or date syrup.
HOW TO MAKE IT ICED
Cold brewing is the best way to make iced tea. Cold brewed Assam tastes so much better than regular iced tea!
STEP 1: Put Assam tea and water in a pitcher or glass container.
Into a pitcher, put Assam tea and pour in cold or room temperature filtered water.
Just like with hot tea, filtered water makes for the best tasting cold brewed tea.
STEP 2: Cover pitcher and put in refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
STEP 3: Strain Assam tea leaves and pour tea into cup.
Cold brewed tea is already chilled, so you can add ice if you want but it’s not necessary.
Cold brewed Assam tea takes milk and sweeteners well. If you do want to sweeten it, simple syrup is the easiest to incorporate into your iced tea.
Simple syrup is super easy to make at home, just mix equal parts sugar and hot water until the sugar dissolves.
Assam Tea Tips
- Assam tea is perfect for adding milk to since it balances out the astringency and enhances its sweetness.
- Assam is a great choice for blending if you like to make your own chai latte.
- Don’t overbrew — steep for 5 minutes, not a minute longer.
QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE
AH-SAHM.
Assam tea has a rich, bold flavor with a bit of malty sweetness.
Yes, this tea naturally contains caffeine. In fact, the tea buds in higher quality Assams increase their caffeine content since buds tend to hold more caffeine than tea leaves.
No! This tea is completely calorie-free unless you add milk or sugar.
Loose leaf is best if you want high-quality Assam tea. You’ll often find this tea in tea bags but if you can, get tea sachets which are of better quality.
Yes, Assam tea is a real tea because it comes from the camellia sinensis plant.
CTC means Crush-Tear-Curl (also known as Cut-Tear-Curl) which is a process to make tea leaves into small, hard pellets. It’s a lower-quality loose Assam tea.
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- Homemade Chai Latte from Scratch
- 6 Easy Steps to Make English Breakfast Tea Properly
- 5 Easy Steps to Make Earl Grey Tea
Assam Tea
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup water + more to warm teapot for hot tea
- 1 ½ teaspoons Assam loose tea
INSTRUCTIONS
- Boil water. If using an electric kettle with temperature setting, set it to 208°F. Heat a little more water than needed so that it can be used to warm up the teapot. Filtered water is best.
- Warm up teapot.Pour some hot water into the teapot and swirl it around a bit. Discard the water.
- Put Assam tea into teapot and add hot water.
- Cover teapot and steep for 5 minutes.
- Strain Assam tea leaves and pour hot tea into a teacup.
How much of the assam tea leaves to make assam cold brew tea?
Hi Jean, start with 1.5 teaspoons per cup of water.