What is Assam Tea? The Malty Black Tea Behind Most Milk Teas
Ning MaShare
The short answer: Assam is a black tea grown in the Brahmaputra plains of north-east India. It is known for a brisk, malty taste and a deep amber colour, and it is the tea that stands up best to milk. It is one of the two black teas most used in a milk tea, alongside Ceylon.
Here is how Assam is grown and made, why it tastes the way it does, and where it sits in a bubble tea shop's milk teas.
Where Assam comes from
Assam is a state in north-east India, and the tea takes its name from it. The tea gardens sit in the Brahmaputra plains, a wide, flat valley that runs through the middle of the state.
The region is hot, humid and rainy. The Brahmaputra river floods the plains each year, leaving behind nutrient-rich soil. Tea grows best in this kind of warm, wet climate, and the Assamese plants flourish there.
Assam is one of the largest tea-growing regions in the world, and one of only two places where tea is native to the soil. The other is southern China.
How Assam is grown and made
Assam tea comes from the Camellia sinensis var. assamica plant, a different variety from the one used for most Chinese and Japanese teas. The assamica leaves are larger and broader, and they tolerate the hot, wet climate of the valley.
The tea is made in the usual black tea way. Leaves are plucked, withered, rolled, oxidised (allowed to darken in the air), and then fired to stop the oxidation. The full oxidation is what makes it a black tea rather than a green or oolong.
Assam is often sold in two forms:
- Orthodox Assam – whole leaves, rolled and oxidised in the traditional way. Brighter, cleaner taste.
- CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) Assam – leaves broken into small pieces by machine. Stronger, darker, and the standard for tea bags and instant black tea powder.
Both are used in milk tea. CTC is the one you will find in most instant milk tea powders.
Why Assam tastes brisk and malty
Two things give Assam its character.
The malt. Assam's warm climate and rich soil push the plant to produce more of the compounds that break down into malt-like flavours during oxidation. The result is a flavour often described as malty, like toasted grain.
The briskness. Assam has a lively, brisk quality, sometimes described as a slight astringency. That is the tannin in the leaf, and it is what gives the tea its body and its "backbone" in the cup.
The colour follows. Assam brews a deep, reddish-amber liquor, sometimes called a "red" tea in older books, which is where the expression "a good cup of red" comes from in parts of India and Ireland.
Why Assam stands up to milk
This is the reason Assam is the tea most used in milk tea.
A lighter tea, such as a Darjeeling or a green tea, disappears under milk. Its flavours are too delicate and get lost.
Assam is the opposite. Its malty body and brisk tannin hold their shape even when you pour 300ml of milk on top. The tea still tastes like tea, and the milk brings out the malt rather than burying it.
That is why Assam is the standard for:
- British breakfast blends – the majority of a typical English Breakfast is Assam
- Masala chai – the base tea for most chai recipes
- Bubble tea milk teas – including our own
Where Assam sits in a bubble tea shop's milk teas
In a milk tea shop, Assam is the base tea for the classic milk teas. It gives the drink its strength and its caramel-adjacent taste, which is why brown sugar pairs with it so well.
Our own milk teas use instant black tea in the tea powders, and black tea is the same family. The result is the creamy, brisk drink you expect from a milk tea, ready in about 20 seconds with no brewing.
Here is where the main milk teas sit:
| Milk tea | Base tea | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Milk Tea | Black tea | Brisk, malty, the standard milk tea |
| Brown Sugar Milk Tea | Black tea with brown sugar | Malty tea with caramel sweetness |
| Matcha & Strawberry | Matcha (not Assam) | Grassy, creamy, a green tea direction |
TeaJoy's milk teas are in the Milk Tea Kit and the Classic Milk Tea café kit. Each drink is a powder sachet and an instant tapioca sachet, stirred into milk or a milk alternative. Nothing is brewed.
If you want the tea form behind each TeaJoy drink, our post on whether bubble tea contains tea sets it out product by product.
A quick note on the other black tea
Ceylon, from Sri Lanka, is the other black tea common in milk teas. It has a sharper, more citrus-like edge than Assam's malt. Some blends use both, with Assam for body and Ceylon for brightness.
Either way, the pattern is the same: a full-bodied black tea is what a milk tea needs.
Questions people ask
What does Assam tea taste like?
Malty and brisk, with a deep amber colour. The malt comes from the warm, wet climate of the Brahmaputra plains, and the briskness comes from the tannin in the leaf.
Why is Assam used in milk tea?
Because it has the body to stand up to milk. Lighter teas disappear under 300ml of milk, but Assam keeps its malty, brisk character.
Is Assam the same as English Breakfast?
Not exactly, but English Breakfast is usually built on Assam. The blend often adds Ceylon or another black tea for brightness, with Assam making up most of it.
What tea does TeaJoy use in its milk teas?
Instant black tea in the tea powders in the Milk Tea Kit and the Classic Milk Tea café kit, stirred into milk with no brewing.
Does Assam contain caffeine?
Yes. As a black tea, Assam contains caffeine, in the same range as other black teas.
Try a milk tea
Both milk teas are in the Milk Tea Kit, four drinks a box, and the Classic Milk Tea café kit, ten drinks a box for cafés. Sign up to our emails for 15% off your entire order.