Guide to Buying the Best Summer Second Flush Assam Tea from Halmari’s 2020 Collection

While trying to buy premium tea online, most of us have seen the words first flush and summer second flush used to describe variants of tea. So, what do they mean in terms of tea? The word flush refers to the time of the year when tea is harvested. There are three flush seasons for Assam tea namely first flush or spring flush, second flush or monsoon flush and autumn flush.

The first flush means tea leaves that are harvested first or at the beginning of the season, which is from late March to late May. The second flush season begins in June and lasts till September.

Harvest season or flushes play a significant role in bringing out the unique flavours and characteristics of tea leaves in different regions. For Darjeeling tea, the first flush is more popular whereas, in case of Assam tea, summer second flush is considered to be of higher quality than the first one.

Origin of Assam Tea

The first tea leaves in Assam were discovered by a Scotsman called Robert Bruce in the year 1823. He recognised wild tea bushes growing around the Rangpur region in Assam. He planned to send it for testing to England but passed away soon after. However, his brother Charles collected leaves from these bushes and sent a sample to a botanical garden in Kolkata. There it was confirmed that these were indeed tea leaves of the variety Camellia Sinensis var Assamica.

How To Recognise Summer Second Flush Assam Tea?

Summer second flush Assam tea can be easily distinguished from other variants because of its unique features. If you are buying second flush Assam tea for the first time, keep an eye out for these features that are listed below -

> The temperature in Assam is more humid and warmer, and the summer second flush tea leaves receive more rainfall which causes them to mature quickly. As a result, the brew made from these leaves has a strong aroma, full-bodied, malty flavour, intense colour of the liquid ranging from golden yellow to dark ruby.

> They are less astringent compared to the first flush.

> Summer second flush teas can also be recognised by golden tipped leaves for which they are also referred to as tippy tea.

> There are several varieties of best quality summer second flush tippy Assam tea such as FTGFOP (fine tippy golden flowery orange pekoe), TGFOP (tippy golden flowery orange pekoe), and SFTGFOP (superfine tippy golden flowery orange pekoe).

> The word orange does not mean that these teas are orange flavoured. It refers to tea leaves present in the processed version. FOP refers to leaves which are intact while BOP means broken leaves. While buying tea keep in mind that whole leaves retain their flavour longer than broken ones.

How Is Summer Second Flush Assam Tea Produced?

Tea estates like Halmari follow traditional tea making methods to preserve the flavour and quality of their tea. The procedure followed by them include –

> Withering
>Oxidation
>Fixing
>Hand rolling
>Drying

Now that you know how to recognise Assam second flush, try some premium quality summer second flush tea from Assam.