Assam Jungle Cabernet

Hmm...I'm feeling some serious love for this tea. It smells like chocolate -- not like Assam, not like cabernet, but like chocolate. Malty? Yes, to an extent, but not to the extent that it bothers me (most malty things do) -- the flavors, paired together, are perfect. I really am NOT an Assam fan, due to the malty flavor, but man, this is incredible, and so interesting. Cya later, other wine infusions...if you want something really unique and standalone, this is it. I think the result of the dark wine infusion is this chocolate flavor, and I find that interesting, too...it's not a creamy chocolate taste, but more of the smell, the hint of melted dark chocolate in a double-boiler, in a fondue pot, whatever. This is very intriguing. Over time, while you're drinking this tea, the chocolate flavor transforms to this dark red wine flavor paired with black tea. This is really incredible. Hats off to Red Leaf -- their excitement over their wine-infused teas -- specifically Pink Sonoma and this one -- is well warranted. This is one of the most unique, if not THE most unique Assam tea I've ever tasted.

Posted by Jessica (AuthoriTea-Reviewer)

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Admittedly, Assam is not my favorite tea base. I tend to find that the astringency that often accompanies it crosses over into area that I consider to be aggressive. I do like their malty characteristics and even some of their beer-like flavor profiles. However, I am not one that stocks an Assam as a plain black in my personal tea stash. That said, with this being a wine-infused tea an Assam base might make sense. Red wine is dry; Assam is rather dry. The aroma coming from my sample smells mostly like cinnamon with a touch of red wine for good measure. Red Leaf Tea lists the ingredients in this as Assam black tea, licorice root with cinnamon and cabernet flavoring. I prepared my cup using water brought to a full boil and allowed to cool for a bit and infused for approximately 3.5 min. The resulting cup is quite unique and delicious. As predicted, the Assam base marries nicely with a tea that is wine infused. It is malty and dry, but not aggressively astringent. The Assam provides a rich, full-bodied backdrop for the flavor profile. The flavor profile has nuances of red wine, cinnamon and even notes of a dark semi-sweet chocolate. I would pick the cinnamon as being the most dominate of those flavors, but it does not overpower the blend. The red wine is most noticeable in the aftertaste. I did find that the longer that I drank the tea, the more wine-like it tasted to me. Overall, I found this blend to be very sophisticated and well-done. I liked that the Assam brought the malt that I love and was dry like Red Wine. I would warn that if you are looking for a tea blend that really tastes like someone spiked your tea with wine, then you might find yourself disappointed. It is more wine-like and provides nuances of wine that make for an interesting cup of tea. This one is definitely worth consideration if you are intrigued by a red wine infused black tea. Thumbs up!

Laura-Teaviews.com-Reviewer

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The flavor and aroma of this tea is so delightfully complex, not unlike the flavor and bouquet of the wine with which it has been infused – Cabernet. The fragrance is quite intoxicating, with hints of cinnamon and licorice (both were also used to flavor this tea) as well as subtle notes of ripe berries, and even a whisper of mint. Even more intriguing is the flavor of this tea. The Assam here is a fine quality tea with a distinguished malty flavor and a delicate note of spice in the background, which is pleasantly accented with the addition of the licorice and cinnamon flavors. But what is most charming about this particular tea is the Cabernet infusion. This has imparted a prominent black currant flavor that is even richer than some black currant flavored teas I’ve tried. There is a definitive tartness to the overall profile of the blend, which lingers in the finish. There is a notable astringency to this tea, in part, I suspect from the wine itself. The astringency leaves the palate feeling clean, with an aftertaste that possesses a tangy twinge that is similar to the aftertaste that remains after eating tart berries. As it is so cold outside, I found this to be quite lovely as a hot tea. However, as it cooled, I noticed that the flavors did not become extraordinarily muted, which communicated to me that it would make a delicious iced tea as well. Because of the tart character of this tea, I do recommend a little bit of sweetener to soften it. However, if you like tart teas, then you might want to try it first without sweetener to see how you like it. I also found that the small amount of sweetener (agave nectar, of course) perked up the softer licorice and cinnamon flavors in this blend, which I really appreciated. I would not add milk or cream to this tea, however, because it would just be weird. I don’t add milk or cream to my wine (on those rare occasions when I actually do drink wine) … and I can’t imagine adding it to this wine-infused tea. As it is that time of year… I would recommend this tea as a gift for the wine collector on your list. It may not be a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, but perhaps it is something that they would appreciate, and would certainly be much easier on the pocketbook.

By Dean & Deluca.