Tasting Notes - Iran
Antique Iranian tea set
By Suzette Hammond
Iranian black teas possess a delicacy and nuanced flavor that evolves even after the tea is brewed.
Here are three examples:
FBOP 1813 – This tea showed a red gold infusion, like a mid-grown Ceylon. Rich aroma, with notes of red fruits and date. Warm, sweet, and gently malty. A very nice tea for blending, similar in character to a high-quality Nilgiri black. However, not as memorable as OP to be served “straight-up” or unblended.
FBOP 1821 – This tea displayed the deepest cup color among the samples. It is similar to lower grown Ceylon. Deep reddish. Sweet aroma, like warmed baklava pastry, and with notes of honey, walnuts, and slightly rosy.
FBOP 1816 (green) – This sample brewed a bright yellow-bronze cup. Grassy, steamed vegetable aroma. Slightly smoky, but balanced character with notes of roasted corn and green vegetables. Slightly astringent finish, very similar in quality to Chinese gunpowder or chun mee green tea. Excellent with fresh mint.
ALSO: Revitalizing Iran
Westerners (ie: primarily those in America and UK, and some Europeans) need to better understand how to prepare Iranian tea properly. If they were to prepare it as they would a similar grade (by leaf size) black tea from India or Sri Lanka - using a spoonful of leaves in their pot, boiling water and brewing for 3-5 min - the cup would be quite weak to their standards. This is because Iranian tea leaves seem to be quite soft and delicate. They do not exhibit the strong, assertive flavors the Americans and UK drinkers are accustomed to in their black tea.
These teas compare to a soft Nepal black tea, or India Nilgiri blacks, or high grown Sri Lanka (Nuwara Eliya). They are not as strongly aromatic as Sri Lanka or Nepal can be - flowers and fruit notes - but the bright, clear liquor and the soft, rounded mouthfeel, lingering finish are most similar.
Suzette Hammond is a professional tea taster and founder of Chicago-based Being Tea www.beingtea.com