Taiwan Yu Chi 'Assam' Black Tea

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Black Tea Leaves
Flavors
Peach, Raisins, Stonefruit, Sweet Potatoes, Astringent, Bitter, Blackberry, Brown Sugar, Cherry, Cloves, Cocoa, Eucalyptus, Floral, Honey, Malt, Meat, Menthol, Plum, Pumpkin, Roasted, Spices, Spicy, Sweet, Thick, Wood, Allspice, Bread, Butternut Squash, Carrot, Dried Fruit, Elderberry, Forest Floor, Herbs, Leather, Orange, Osmanthus, Prune, Raspberry, Rose, Savory, Spring Water, Tangy, Vegetables, Wheat, Grapes, Mineral, Peanut, Strawberry, Black Currant, Blueberry, Candy, Cream, Dates, Marshmallow, Melon, Orange Zest, Pear, Red Apple, Vanilla
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Shae
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 45 sec 5 g 5 oz / 157 ml

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11 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Harvest: Spring, May 2020 I tried my best to scoop this with my teaspoon, but the leaves are long and gangly so I’m not entirely sure everything made it into the cup. There wasn’t a weight...” Read full tasting note
  • “Seeing the praise, I made sure to add this tea in one of my recent What-Cha orders. I had no doubt it would be a winner, as What-Cha’s black teas most often are. One of the nice things about this...” Read full tasting note
    92
  • “Life in general has been beating the crap out of me so I decided that today is a rat lunch day! It made me smile to think of KS and our rat lunch reviews and I needed a smile and a good memory. For...” Read full tasting note
  • “March 2019 harvest. The best morning/afternoon Assam I’ve ever had. Very complex and layered taste and mouthfeel yet approachable due to a distinct lack of bitterness, very light astringency and...” Read full tasting note
    93

From What-Cha

A Taiwanese black produced from Indian Assam cultivars originally planted during the 2nd World War, it has the full bodied malt taste typically associated with Assam along with the refined smoothness of a Taiwanese black coupled with a hint of sweetness.

Tasting Notes:
- Smooth taste
- Lingering malt with a touch of sweetness

Origin: Yu Chi Township, Nantou County, Taiwan
Altitude: 600-800m
Producer: Mr. Lee
Sourced: Specialist Taiwanese tea wholesaler

Cultivar: TTES.8 Assam
Picking: Hand

Brewing Advice:
- Heat water to roughly 90°C/194°F
- Use 2 teaspoons per cup/small teapot
- Brew for 2-3 minutes

https://what-cha.com/products/taiwan-yu-chi-assam-black-tea

About What-Cha View company

Company description not available.

11 Tasting Notes

2171 tasting notes

Harvest: Spring, May 2020

I tried my best to scoop this with my teaspoon, but the leaves are long and gangly so I’m not entirely sure everything made it into the cup. There wasn’t a weight recommendation on the package or I would have measured, so I just went with it. The dry leaf smells to me like raisins, which I don’t like to eat but do love the flavor in tea. I taste sweet potato in the finished cup and, surprisingly, peach. I’m not sure I’ve ever tasted peach in a tea that’s not actually flavored with peach, so this was a nice surprise. I love stone fruits and black tea together. I will say that it’s lighter than I would like, not sure if that’s because I didn’t get enough on my teaspoon or if I need to increase the steep time. Compared to the Tiger Assam I had a couple of days ago, this isn’t as dark and luscious as I would have liked. Still enjoying it though, especially with that peach note.

Flavors: Peach, Raisins, Stonefruit, Sweet Potatoes

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Leafhopper

This is one of my favourite black teas! It’s definitely a little lighter than Indian Assam. I also don’t mind raisin notes in tea, but avoid raisins like the plague.

Shae

Same, I honestly only like them in Raisin Bran when they’re caked in sugar. And even that doesn’t make any sense.

Leafhopper

LOL. Everything is better when it’s covered in sugar. :)

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92
984 tasting notes

Seeing the praise, I made sure to add this tea in one of my recent What-Cha orders. I had no doubt it would be a winner, as What-Cha’s black teas most often are. One of the nice things about this one is that it is bold and complex at the same time. Overall, I seem to get a more woody rather than fruity flavour, as well as more bitter and astringent profile then some of the other reviews would indicate. It could be because it is one year old now, but I doubt it.

The tea has complex aromatics too, including blackberry, menthol, malt, and honey notes emerging from dry leaves; while the wet leaves have a sweet smell reminiscent of roasted pumpkin, unsmoked bacon, and brown sugar.

Taste is dominated by a woody bitterness and cocoa beans flavour. Other notes include those of cumin, eucalyptus, black cherry, and later also plum and cloves in the aftertaste, which has a very good balance of sweet, floral, spicy, and fruity flavours.

The most interesting aspect of the mouthfeel is the combination of brisk astringency Assam varietals are known for with a soft and thick liquor texture.

Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Blackberry, Brown Sugar, Cherry, Cloves, Cocoa, Eucalyptus, Floral, Honey, Malt, Meat, Menthol, Plum, Pumpkin, Roasted, Spices, Spicy, Sweet, Thick, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 g 3 OZ / 75 ML

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3377 tasting notes

Life in general has been beating the crap out of me so I decided that today is a rat lunch day! It made me smile to think of KS and our rat lunch reviews and I needed a smile and a good memory.

For those who don’t know, rat lunch is toasted cheese and tea – good, solid, black tea specifically. We got it from the children’s book “I Was A Rat” that JacquelineM introduced me to. And I really wanted to try this gift from derk and this is the perfect time since I am alone today for lunch and don’t have to pick a tea that everyone else likes.

May I say….it could not have been more perfect. It has everything one loves about Assam but not the thing that keeps me away from Assam so often – boiling heartburn. As soon as I smelled it, I knew. I fell hard for this guy and he is probably going to make me break my “no ordering” ban. (Ha, like I really observe that anyway!)

Malty, bready, rich, thick, full body, dark, just the right amount of tingle. It is the perfect tea for today. It resteeps well. Rat lunch has done me a lot of good.

Thank you, derk!

tea-sipper

Stop beating up ashmanra, life!
Hope things get better for you soon – you deserve it.

Kawaii433

Hope things improve for you soon, ashmanra!

mrmopar

Life on earth is just a precursor to what is after. The trials here will do merit elsewhere. Rat lunch , haven’t heard that in a while. I hope my old buddy KS will have it again with me in attendance this time.

derk

You’re welcome, ashmanra. I’m glad this special tea and the fond memory of your friend afforded you the fortitude to make it through another day. You know the sources of your strength <3

Martin Bednář

I hope you will feel better soon!

gmathis

We had grilled cheese on rye for dinner :)

Ilse Wouters

As we say in Spain : “Animo!” …and if a rat lunch (thanks for making me aware of this, I´ll use it!) can make you feel better, we´ll all drink (tea) on it!

gmathis

mrmopar, let’s just schedule a Steepster family reunion right now ;)

mrmopar

@gmathis I would be up to that. I came across his blog searching a while back. Had to reread some of those notes…

ashmanra

Thank you for your good wishes, everyone! Life has some hard seasons. This is one of them. I am trying to pay attention to all those things I have to thankful for, like you folks here on Steepster, <3

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93
1599 tasting notes

March 2019 harvest.

The best morning/afternoon Assam I’ve ever had. Very complex and layered taste and mouthfeel yet approachable due to a distinct lack of bitterness, very light astringency and an inviting aroma. Savory and mineral backbone with plenty of berry tones and a lemony taste that zings. Emergent menthol. The leaves are alive and have plenty to give.

I would serve this to anybody entering my home.

Not for small pocketbooks but well worth a try! It’s very forgiving :)

Leafhopper

Agreed on all points. I’m hoarding my remaining 20 g.

derk

I gave away my last teaspoon or two. The rest of it I blew through like an addict. You are stronger than me!

Leafhopper

LOL, that was generous! I nearly made a What-Cha order just to get more of this tea and the Rohini Second Flush Darjeeling. I’ll probably repurchase both of them if they’re still available in a few months.

derk

It’s on sale right now whyyyyyy

Leafhopper

Argh! That’s dangerous! I need to remind myself that I’ve acquired 38 teas in the past couple months and I don’t need more! The current Taiwan Tea Crafts sale is also making me waver.

derk

I’ve been on an anti-hoarding mission since my last What-Cha order in 2019. I wish you the strength to not succumb to TTC but sipping vicariously through you is always welcome ;)

Leafhopper

Thanks! The struggle is real. I’ve been enjoying your recent adventures with tisanes, although most of them seem better to read about than to drink.

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98
435 tasting notes

After reading the rave reviews of this tea, I picked up 25 grams of it this summer. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 7, 9, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma of these huge, curly leaves is of blackberries, grapes, honey, and malt. The first steep is amazingly complex, with notes of grapes, plums, blackberries, strawberries, malt, honey, fruit leather, and baked bread. The second steep adds notes of cherry, brown sugar, and raisins. There’s no astringency and wow, this tea is good. The fruit explosion continues through the next few steeps, with lots of plum, cherry, grape, and blackberry flavours. By steep six, sweet potato, orange, baked bread, brown sugar, malt, and honey take over, with the fruit in the background. The final steeps have flavours of peanuts, sweet potatoes, malt, wood, and minerals.

Like everyone else who has reviewed this tea, I was incredibly impressed. It’s simultaneously mind-bogglingly complex and very accessible. There’s no astringency and the fruity flavours jump out at you. (Unlike Eastkyteaguy, I didn’t get any menthol.) This is definitely a special occasion tea that repays careful attention. What-Cha really knocked it out of the park with this one.

Flavors: Blackberry, Bread, Brown Sugar, Cherry, Dried Fruit, Grapes, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Orange, Peanut, Plum, Raisins, Strawberry, Sweet Potatoes, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML
derk

You beat me to a another review! The flavors are a bit different for me but it’s still amazing tea. Menthol wasn’t there in the mouth but I notice it coming out at the nape of my neck of all places!

Leafhopper

Interesting! If any tea could do that, it’d be this one.

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95
1724 tasting notes

Insanely rich, brisk, smooth, balanced, and decadent. This tea would serve as a great breakfast tea to get you up in the morning or even a late lunch for a second waking, but I’m using it as a dessert one for now. It pairs well with handpicked blackberries. There’s something about its leather character that kind of reminds me of Ancient Spirit. Maybe it’s the marshmellow note. Oh well, this remains as one superior Assam. I might rate it higher in the future, but 95 is my minimum so far. I can’t see myself drinking this one often because it is so powerful, and complex enough that it needs to be savored. If you love tea and good Assams, this is an excellent match.

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99
1049 tasting notes

Hi, everybody! It’s been a rather long time, hasn’t it? I’ll go ahead and admit that life has taken precedence over reviewing for the last couple of weeks. Work has been a killer for me, and I have had lots of personal stuff to deal with too. Even when I have had free time, I have not been able to force myself to post here. For whatever reason, I have just not been able to focus on writing. I’m still drinking tea like crazy, though, and I have been steadily building up quite a backlog in the space of the past month. This was one of my sipdowns from the first half of last month, and quite frankly, it is still a tea I think about often. I wish I had purchased more of it when I had the opportunity because this was a fantastic black tea.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of malt, honey, baked bread, strawberry, blackberry, and red grape. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of sweet potato, roasted peanut, brown sugar, cocoa, plum, and menthol. The first infusion introduced aromas of candied orange, eucalyptus, and black cherry. The menthol scent also grew somewhat stronger. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of sweet potato, malt, baked bread, cocoa, red grape, candied orange, plum, strawberry, brown sugar, and menthol that were backed by hints of black cherry, blackberry, cream, eucalyptus, and vanilla. The subsequent infusions brought out aromas of black currant, blueberry, cream, date, orange zest, vanilla, melon, wood, and marshmallow. Stronger and more immediate cream, black cherry, menthol, and vanilla notes appeared in the mouth along with impressions of honey and roasted peanut. I also noted impressions of minerals, blueberry, marshmallow, wood, black currant, red pear, date, red apple, and orange zest as well as some subtle hints of watermelon. As the tea settled and faded, I was left with impressions of minerals, malt, baked bread, wood, sweet potato, menthol, plum, cream, and orange zest that were underscored by subtle hints of black cherry, blackberry, blueberry, eucalyptus, brown sugar, honey, cocoa, and roasted peanut.

It is very rarely that a Taiwanese black tea disappoints me, but it is also a rare occurrence when one impresses me as much as this tea did. For a tea displaying such incredible depth and complexity, it was neither poorly balanced nor overwhelming. It was also incredibly lacking in astringency, rendering a smooth, silky liquor that was never lacking in approachability. Overall, this was a fantastic Taiwanese black tea. It even reminded me a bit of some of the more consistently hyped Taiwanese black teas to have gained a following on Steepster and elsewhere (Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black and Premium Taiwanese Assam, anyone?) but with one important difference: this tea may have been slightly better than most of them.

Flavors: Black Currant, Blackberry, Blueberry, Bread, Brown Sugar, Candy, Cherry, Cocoa, Cream, Dates, Eucalyptus, Grapes, Honey, Malt, Marshmallow, Melon, Menthol, Mineral, Orange, Orange Zest, Peanut, Pear, Plum, Red Apple, Strawberry, Sweet Potatoes, Vanilla, Wood

Preparation
6 g 4 OZ / 118 ML
Ubacat

Wow, that’s a lot of flavours in that tea! I haven’t left many reviews lately either for a long time. Somehow even though I enjoyed Steepster my reviews didn’t work for me when reordering. I could never find old reviews or I couldn’t sort by order of rating. These days I just record it on my Tea Excel report and note how much I liked it.

Evol Ving Ness

Wow indeed!

Daylon R Thomas

I almost got that one too. Now, I regret it.

derk

hey guy, hope all is well!

tea-sipper

BETTER than Butiki?!

eastkyteaguy

tea-sipper, maybe, or just as good at the very least. Whispering Pines’ current Taiwanese offerings are allegedly sourced from the same place as Butiki’s. Having had several of those teas and then trying this one, I can safely say this tea struck me as being at least as good if not just a little bit better.

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100
335 tasting notes

What-Cha, ya’ll are on POINT with selecting your Assams. This beaut is just perfection to start the day. Strong, brisk, rich, and not a bit of astringency. Wonderful big leaves, which I think really improves an Assam. Can’t believe I just have a small portion. When I buy again, this will be be on list. I prefer this one hot, but I think it would be proper iced.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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