Im going to start this one off with WOW…
Okay now that we have that out of the way, I brewed this in a 120ml yixing pot, using 6 grams of leaf and water just over 200 degrees. Starting with a quick rinse to open up the tea leaves, I was hit by an intense roast and cinnamon aroma. It’s really strong, sweet and pleasant.
Now onto the main show, the first brew and the scent seemed to even get stronger now, roast, cinnamon, malt and plums. It’s just so mellow and fruity… this shows what a good level of roast really does for an oolong. The liquor is a dark honey color and very sweet, with just a hint of minerality.
Second infusion is almost exactly the same, I went from 15 to about 20 seconds for the second infusion, and it really kept it consistent. The leaves are starting to open up now as well, it has a slightly spice that I cant quite put my finger on now though as more of the other flavors start to show up.
Third infusion I get a little tiny tang of astringency, like a roasted type not a green type of astringency. Also more floral notes are coming in but I cant quite put my finger on them, there is so much going on with this tea its hard to place everything.
Fourth infusion the roast is starting to die down a little bit and some of the oolong flavors are coming out stronger, there are still alot of spices happening on the back of this that I cant really put a name to, allspice.. maybe cloves or nutmeg.. but darker sweeter spices.
This tea is really complex and will require many more tastings to really get a feel for this.
HIGHLY! Recommended for anyone who likes roasted tea at all.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Malt, Plum, Roasted, Sweet
Is the flavour you cant put your finger on red bean paste? It drove me crazy for several steeps before it struck me.