Starting off with around 4-5g of leaves, 100ml at 200F, no wash.
Larger leaves, so no need for a wash in my opinion :D
For the first steep, spent about 3s. Unlike the smoked version of this, this one’s actually is fruity. It does have apricot notes. Like the smoked, this one does have a creamy flavour (but not as pronounced). It also has that traditional chinese black tea taste in the background (unfortuantely, I don’t know exactly how to label that particular taste).
Second steep adds a relatively strong wood flavour, on par with the apricot. Currently this tea tastes very much like a more mellow, creamy version of the Big Red Robe by Li Xiangxi, the same group that provides this tea.
On the fourth steep now, and no change in flavour from the first steep. It’s consistent.
6th steep and the same, only the flavour’s just barely starting to lessen.
I guess this tea can be steeped around 10 times before it fully loses flavour, so it has some nice endurance.
As for the final verdict? This tastes like a lesser version of Big Red Robe by the same group. It might need higher temperatures and/or longer steeping time with more leaves, so I’ll have to check later. But for now, it’s an alright tea. I would recommend the ‘smoked’ version of this one however.
Flavors: Apricot, Cream, Wood
