Caramel Vanilla Assam is a black tea blend with Taiwanese Assam. This tea is by Butiki Teas, an Oolong Owl favorite tea seller.
I have heard so many good things about Butiki Teas black teas, especially their Taiwanese Assam. Caramel Vanilla Assam is also highly rated on Steepster, currently riding the first page of the best rated teas of the community. I had to snag this tea with my last, giant, Butiki Teas order.
Dry Leaf: I tried scooping out the tea and WOW LOOK IT THE SIZE OF THE LEAF! This is something I expect with a good oolong or green, not a black tea, hoot!
Whoa mama! Great quality! I love the look of the tangled charcoal leaves with yellow petals twisted about. The smell of the leaves is similar to vanilla ice cream – sweet, creamy and vanilla.
Steeping Instructions: The packaging states to infuse 2 teaspoons of Caramel Vanilla Assam in boiling water for 3 minutes.
I followed the package instructions, steeping my tea in a gravity infuser.
The tea steeps up to a reddy brown brew that smells like delicious vanilla and cream.
Taste: Wow, very tasty! The Caramel Vanilla Assam is very smooth and sweet with a moderate flavor intensity. The sip in is bright, caramel sugar goodness with a background of malt with a hint of cocoa and spice. Throughout the sip the tea is very creamy, adding a soft sensation to the lips. End of sip there is a slight fruity quality with vanilla flavor. The creamy sensation, vanilla and sweetness make this tea taste luxurious and rich, without being a heavy or thick tea. A few moments after my sip, I am getting a little astringency, say a 1/10 on the astringe-o-meter. The astringency is just a slight dryness to the tongue. There is no bitterness in this black tea blend.
Sweetened: I adding a bit of german rock sugar. Whoa, a taste difference! The caramel becomes more gooey like and stronger in flavor, riding around with loads of vanilla. The delicious tea base seems toned down, making the caramel vanilla become the main attraction. This is so creamy that I don’t think I need to ever add milk to this tea.
Resteep: Being a black, I figured this tea could go for a resteeping. With a 4 minute resteep Caramel Vanilla Assam comes out lighter. The smooth creamy texture and vanilla flavor is still present, however the caramel sweet is not. The black base still has a hint of spice with a little malt. The astringency has become stronger, a 3/10, adding a dry stickyness to the teeth. The creamyness is still quite good – totally worth resteeping this blend!
After the resteep, I checked the leaves. Yup, still huge.
Comments: Butiki Teas‘ Caramel Vanilla Assam is probably one of the best creamy black teas I’ve had. The tea leaves are great quality and the caramel and vanilla flavoring pair really well the the black Taiwainese Assam base. Both sweetened and unsweetened, Caramel Vanilla Assam is good – try both to see which you like!
I would personally make this tea to impress others during dessert at a dinner party – it isn’t a heavy black tea, and is practically a liquid dessert! I’d put this tea on the “Must Try” with your next Butiki Teas order.
