Assam Tea

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons Assam Tea
• 150 ml fresh water
• Sugar
• Milk

Method

Boiling water matters first. Heat 150 ml to a rolling boil — you need 95–100°C to properly extract the tannins and volatile oils from Assam leaf. Use a kettle, not a pan if you can; you'll see the moment it hits full boil, and precision is easier.

Add the 2 teaspoons of leaf once the water breaks into active bubbles. The infusion happens fastest in the first minute — Assam's malty, honey-like character comes from oxidation, and hot water unlocks those compounds almost immediately. Reduce heat to a bare simmer or remove the pan from the heat entirely. This distinction matters: a rolling boil will over-extract tannins and turn the tea bitter and astringent within 90 seconds. You're aiming for 3–5 minutes of contact time, no more. Watch the liquor darken from amber to copper-bronze. Once it reaches that warm, translucent colour and the smell shifts from grassy to distinctly malty, it's done.

Strain immediately through a fine-mesh sieve or dedicated tea filter into your cup. Don't squeeze the leaves — pressing them ruptures cell walls and forces out the harsh tannins you've avoided by restraint so far. The aromatic-infusion is fragile at this point.

Milk and sugar go in after, not before, because you need to assess the tea's actual strength first. Cold milk will cool the liquor slightly, dulling those volatile aromatics you've just coaxed out, so add it last and sparingly — a splash, not a pour. Assam is sturdy enough to stand up to dairy where finer teas collapse, but drowning it serves no one. Stir once. Drink while it's hot enough to release the aromatics on every sip; below 60°C you're just drinking sweet, milky liquid.