Assam "Black Beauty" #8

Assam "Black Beauty" #8 – Sun Moon Lake Taiwanese Black Tea for Specialty Trade

Assam "Black Beauty" #8 is naturally grown and produced in Taiwan. It is a distinctive and highly appealing black tea with an exceptionally smooth richness, offering natural hints of cream, honey and bourbon alongside malty notes of raisin and stone fruit. It is a compelling specialty black tea for tea shops and cafes that want something beyond standard Indian Assam.

The tea has a fascinating background. Black tea production in Taiwan began in 1903, and in 1926 the first Assam cultivar was planted in the hills around Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County, an area whose climate and terroir were judged the closest to the Assam gardens of India. Today, Sun Moon Lake produces most of Taiwan's black tea from three distinct cultivars: a pure-stock Assam, a native indigenous cultivar and a hybrid known as #8, which is the cultivar used for this tea. Compared with traditional Indian Assam, Black Beauty #8 is far less brisk, with a smooth, rounded richness that almost resembles a dark oolong. It is deep, full of character and easy to enjoy without milk or sugar, though a splash of milk makes it extra creamy, and it works well gongfu-style over multiple infusions.

Product Profile

• Type: Black tea
• Origin: Sun Moon Lake, Nantou County, Taiwan
• Cultivar: #8 (hybrid)
• Flavor: malty with hints of cream, honey and bourbon; raisin and ripe stone fruit
• Body: smooth, rich and deeply layered
• Character: less brisk than Indian Assam, with dark oolong-like depth
• Finish: long, sweet and satisfying
• Caffeine: contains caffeine (black tea)

Key Selling Points

• Grown near Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan's main black tea region
• Made from the prized #8 cultivar with a documented history
• Cream, honey, bourbon and raisin notes
• Smooth and rich with no harsh briskness; good plain or with milk
• Pairs with dark chocolate and dried fruit

Full, smooth and distinctive, Assam "Black Beauty" #8 is a luxury Taiwanese black tea that broadens any wholesale black tea range.