According to their website, www.redleaftea.com, "The Assam region of India is well known for its strong, malty black teas and pungent green teas. To the powerful briskness of these teas we have added the sweet and vivid flavor of a bright cabernet wine. Heavily infused prior to drying, the full-bodied cabernet pervades the deep and dark Assam herbs, brightening a black tea that famously stimulates your afternoons!"This was, literally, not my cup of tea. I am a big fan of wine and I'm a big fan of Assam and I didn't like this at all. I double brewed this to get a feel for the taste of the topping and a taste of the base tea and I liked neither. I brewed at 208F for 3 and 3.5 minutes, respectively.
Steep 1 - It smells really, really odd. It almost smells like a mincemeat pie. There's a straight black tea smell with a sort of prune-ish and some red wine to it. It wasn't very pleasant. The taste followed the nose to the mark: there was that really gross prune/wine blend. It was also very, very bitter for an Assam. I figured I'd be safe with a 3 minute infusion but it gave it an almost unpalatable bitterness. There was some cinnamon, too.
Steep 2 - I figured that all of the bitterness from the first brew would be gone by now so I went for the 3.5 minute steep. This did not help. The slightly redeeming wine flavor was gone at this point, leaving only that prune flavor and, strangely enough, an overwhelming bitterness even after the first brew.
This blend was not for me at all. There was none of the wonderful malty and honey qualities of a good base Assam, nor any of the delightful qualities of a Cabernet Sauvignon, which I think it was going after. Really not my thing.
— To purchase Red Leaf Tea Assam Jungle Cabernet, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.
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