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Each 1.06 oz Tin contains approximately 10-12 servings. Depending on steeping method, each serving can yield 2-3 cups, for a total of 20-30 cups per tin.
Sivasagar, Assam
Second flush (May-June)
300 ft
P-126
Whole leaf black tea
The Assam Golden Needle was chosen by us as it is a very memorable and luxurious tea composed of the most premium golden buds. It is absolutely marvelous with an extremely rich mouthfeel with a creamy, viscous texture and superb lasting aftertaste. Sweet, malty, with notes of raisin and all spice this tea is delicate, but nuanced and best enjoyed without milk and sugar. This is a tea we are very proud to have, and definitely think it is for a tea aficionado who is looking for a unique and exquisite tea! You can steep this tea multiple times, with each infusion having the same luxurious mouthfeel but revealing subtleties in aromas and flavors.
The Golden Needle is an artisanal tea that is made in very small quantities in the summer. The most premium buds are carefully handpicked from the premium P-126 cultivar of the Camellia sinensis var. assamica plant, and then withered, oxidized and dried. Once you have had our Assam Golden Needle there is definitely no going back and you will keep coming back for more!
High-Moderate
Number of infusions per 2.5 g serving: 4-5
2.5 gms of tea (use a digital scale)
120-150 ml (4-5 fl-oz) or 1/2 - 2/3rd cup of water at 90°C - 99°C (or 195°F - 210°F)
This tea works great for the gongfu method of steeping as it helps coax out all the subtle flavors.
We recommend 5 gm of tea
100 ml water (approximate 10-20 ml of water per 1 gm of tea) at 85°C - 90°C (or 185°F - 195°F).
Origin
Golden-green rice fields, thick forests, manicured tea estates surrounded by blue hills, green valleys, and a red river, Assam is the largest Northeastern state in India. Situated just below the eastern Himalayan foothills, it stretches along the Brahmaputra River. This tea comes from the Sivasagar district from a tea garden by the banks of the river Teok. The name 'Teok' means – 'The place of milk and ghee' in Tai.
Meet
Hunted for its horn, the one horned rhinos were almost extinct, with less than 200 left by the end of the 19th century. Conservation efforts have revived their population and brought their worldwide numbers to around 3,000 now — the bulk of them in Kaziranga, Assam.
Assam Golden Needle from Herbs and Kettles is a luxurious black tea from Assam, comprised purely of premium golden buds. It boasts an extremely rich mouthfeel and a superb lasting aftertaste, with notes of honey, malt, oak, cacao, and yellow raisins, reminiscent of high-quality Darjeeling.
This company has earned my loyalty through their unwavering commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, consistently delivering exceptional teas and outstanding support.
Love these teas, tastes amazing. Quite expensive, so I’ve found the subscription better value for money and a tea education to boot.
Love these teas!
This tea is truly transformative. Every sip brings warmth, calm, and clarity, making it more than just a drink—it’s a daily ritual that elevates my mood and grounds me. The flavors are deep, balanced, and subtly complex, leaving a lasting, comforting finish. I can’t imagine my mornings and sometimes evenings without it now. It’s like wrapping yourself in a cozy blanket on a cold day, a little luxury that feels indulgent yet essential. This tea has changed my life, helping me find peace and joy in small moments.
It was the first time I tried golden needle tea. I had silver needle before and always loved it. The golden needle tea is now also on my favorites list for its refreshing taste and energizing without causing caffeine crush. I have ordered from Herbs & Kettles two times already and I am very pleased with the service and the quality of the teas. Will be ordering more in the future! My wish is that there would be an option to order tea in just a bag, so I can reuse my tea tins that I already have. Otherwise I have to discard empty tins and this is such a waste.
Our single origin Assam Golden Needle is sourced from a small boutique tea garden in the Sivasagar district in Assam.
Yes, we work directly with tea growers across India and personally select their best batches.
We focus on creating strong partnerships with farmers across India and personally selecting their best batches. Our teas are single origin, small batch, and directly sourced with a focus on flavor, season, and terroir. Our loose-leaf teas are all high quality with nuanced aromas and flavors, excellent for gongfu steeping or Western style steeping.
Unlike commodity teas or other Indian tea companies, which often sell broken teas, we offer whole leaf teas. When steeped, whole leaf teas provide a wonderful taste and flavor without the astringency and bitterness that comes with steeping broken teas.
We are tea sommeliers with strong connections to farmers across India. We select single origin, single batch, directly sourced teas with a focus on flavor, terroir, and season. By eliminating the middleman, we ensure that our teas are fresh, often weeks to months old, compared to commodity teas which can be years old.
Our focus on whole leaf teas ensures wonderful aromas and flavors that you will enjoy. Our customers enjoy our teas and we often hear from tea connoisseurs, “we did not enjoy Indian teas as much until we tried the exceptional teas offered by Herbs & Kettles.”
Our teas are farm fresh and packed at origin. We work with tea farmers who use organic farming methods and ensure that their tea workers are treated fairly, helping to uplift the entire community.
By working directly with tea farmers and maintaining strong partnerships, we eliminate the middleman. Our regional loose leaf teas are packed at origin, ensuring farm-to-cup freshness.
We purchase new lots every year, and our teas are often air mailed to us rather than shipped by ocean, ensuring they are weeks or months old instead of years old which is often a problem with grocery stores or commodity teas. We recommend trying it for yourself to appreciate the freshness and quality of our teas.
Yes, we share our passion for high quality Indian teas by offering seasonal and limited edition teas such as Darjeeling Yanki Red Oolong and Meghalaya Silver Needle. We buy new lots every year ensuring that each tea retains farm to cup freshness and also select new interesting teas for our collection.
Tea lovers may enjoy our premium subscription box - Herbs & Kettles Fine Tea Club, which includes fantastic, seasonal, limited batch teas that are often only weeks old, air mailed directly from our farm partners.
If you're looking for a Darjeeling tea based on the season or flush, we've chosen them with extreme care to ensure that each batch is exceptional and the best of the season.
For those who enjoy malty Assam teas, we have a premium collection, including innovative batches like Assam GABA and Assam Smoked Melody. Our Nilgiri Frosted teas are divine, and we also offer teas from lesser-known regions such as Meghalaya and Sikkim.
Additionally, we carry wild teas from Manipur and Nagaland in the extreme northeastern region of India, close to Yunnan. Can't decide? We offer tea samples to help you find your favorite teas.
