Vahdam Assam Exotic

Alright, so after recovering from that nasty business with the matchas, and honestly the overall disappointment with Vahdam so far. Next up was the Assam Exotic Second Flush Black Tea. Honestly, not sure what's supposed to be "Exotic" about it. Looking at the dry leaves, you can see some golden tips mixed in, which usually suggests good quality buds were used. Maybe that's the exotic part? Still, I'm pretty sure we've also had these before in the other samplers. I believe it was "Assam Gold".

The taste is primarily what you expect from an Assam: malty. There's a slight bitterness accompanying it, but overall, it's just... Assam. Nothing really stood out or made it feel special or particularly "exotic". It’s a straightforward, strong black tea flavour.

It's drinkable enough, but I found that after a cup or two, I started getting "malt fatigue", that strong malty note just becomes a bit much and rather one-dimensional.

So, yeah, a bit of a disappointment considering the name. It's just a standard malty Assam, nothing more. Felt like a big name for a pretty average tea.