The warm leaves in the gaiwan have a scent of orchids and mountain air, very sweet and fragrant. I’m really eager to try this tea.
After the first infusion, the wet leaves are giving me big whiffs of floral with hints of honey, wheat, and grapefruit. There’s also a vegetal scent. The flavor is light with mostly floral notes and a bit creamy, but there is a sourness to it that I’m surprised about. The finish isn’t as enjoyable as the onset.
(I made sure at this point that my kettle was producing clean tasting water and wasn’t in need of cleaning, and the water tasted normal. )
The next infusion has quite a sour taste to it as well. There’s a drying quality to the tea that is really difficult for me to tolerate. The flavor is floral and has a pungent kind of sourness like grapefruit.
By the third infusion, the flavor is more round, floral and vegetal, but it’s bordering on bitter or sour tasting. I am brewing this tea lighter yet than I typically brew these types of rolled high mountain oolong teas, so I’m pretty certain I’m not overbrewing it.
I am bummed that I’m not enjoying this tea. The scent is great, the kind of luscious floral you’d expect from high quality high mountain oolong, but the flavor is kind of harsh. It doesn’t have a clean mouthfeel. It is pungent and sour. I love Yezi teas and feel bad leaving a less than positive review for a company I enjoy so much, but I believe reviews should be honest and unbiased. Personally, this helps me to look back at what I’ve tried and know what things to purchase or try again in the future. I suppose it can also help vendors decide which of their teas are well-liked and which ones may be more of a risk to sell.
I gave this tea a second chance with what I had left of the sample, making a fresh batch, and I had the same experience, overall good flavor, but marred by pungent sour and bitterness that sneaks in in the finish.
My brewing times were 45s, 25s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 60s, with no initial rinse.
Flavors: Drying, Orchid, Sour
