This is a tea I had a few times before beginning our class and never really had an opinion on it. I remember it being earthy and deep, like most green teas but I thought it would be fun to try it again now that I have learned so much more about the quality of tea and what to look for. For off, it’s in a bag and really finely ground, so it is probably safe to assume that it is of lower quality. I brewed it in a clear, blue, art-deco mug and aromatically it wasn’t that bad. When I tasted it, it was more bitter than I remembered and almost imparted a burned flavor. I feel like the plant it came from was rather young as there didn’t seem to be any depth in it. I didn’t get any joy from drinking it and I know the process it went through was very mechanical. I remember Professor Zhu talking about the more you learn about tea, the more you get out of it. I definitely feel that this is true as I can taste so much more nuance now. This is a tea I would have been fine drinking before, but now I can’t bring myself to reach for it.
Flavors: Burnt, Dirt, Earth
