Wow! This smells great once the leaves are rinsed. It smelled great before that, but I digress.
A syrupy sweetness, akin to a good craft IPA in the beer world invites the nose.
1st Infusion – 2:20 or so (I let it sit too long)
That scent carried right over to the brew. Roses, orchids. What do orchids smell like anyway? I should get my nose into some if I’m going to mention them all the time in tasting notes. Light and flavorful with a syrupy honey sweetness through and through to the finish. Lots of hui gan, I had to wait 20 min between infusions and I just wanted to get the second gaiwan steep done already, it was so tasty.
2nd Infusion – 2:00
A bit of dryness/astringency comes in at this infusion, but the pleasant sweetness is still very present. I’m quite enjoying this tea. Will loosen my notes up a bit now.
3rd-4th Infusion – 2:00-2:30
Stepped the time up by half minute increments to get more out of the leaves as the water ran clearer. There are more woody notes in these later infusions. The flowers are in the background but still around. The middling body has a little bit of astringency but is smooth overall.
5th Infusion – 3:15
I’m probably going to stop after this, the leaves have yielded all of their sweetness and are turning to a bit of sharp astringency. Not a put-off really as it tastes more like a nice sheng than something coarse.
6th Infusion – 3:30
Against my better judgement I dumped more water into the gaiwan. I was returned with a nice mild tea after a long steep time with clearer notes on the flavors above. I would probably stop at 4 infusions or go with a higher leaf to water ratio to get more out of my session.
Flavors: Astringent, Flowers, Grass, Honey, Pancake Syrup, Smooth
Preparation
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Lol I feel the same way about floral aromas/flavors, unless it’s one of the few I actually know like rose, jasmine, osmanthus, etc., I’m probably just making things up. XD
Glad to know I’m not alone. Lol
I think lavender, magnolia blossoms, jasmine, and tulips are all pretty standout to my senses. I don’t have a gifted sense of smell so I would definitely want to stick my nose in some orchids and see how close I was.
Caveman brain say, flowers smell nice.
You taught me “hui gan,” thank you! I’ll put this company on my future list…!
Lovely! Yes, it’s an odd term once translated to English, but I understand the feeling as described on the finish. I have only had this tea so far, but I did look the company up and it looks like a great one to support.
Lol I feel the same way about floral aromas/flavors, unless it’s one of the few I actually know like rose, jasmine, osmanthus, etc., I’m probably just making things up. XD
Glad to know I’m not alone. Lol
I think lavender, magnolia blossoms, jasmine, and tulips are all pretty standout to my senses. I don’t have a gifted sense of smell so I would definitely want to stick my nose in some orchids and see how close I was.
Caveman brain say, flowers smell nice.
You taught me “hui gan,” thank you! I’ll put this company on my future list…!
Lovely! Yes, it’s an odd term once translated to English, but I understand the feeling as described on the finish. I have only had this tea so far, but I did look the company up and it looks like a great one to support.