I finally got a gaiwan, so I decided to pick a tea to sit down with and give it a spin.
The first round I oversteeped it (at 5g per 140ml) but after a do over, I settled down to 3g I was off.
20 (rinse) – 25 – 30 – 30 – 35 – 40 – 60 – 70 – 85
first steep:
Very slight astringency, aftertaste of light basil on the tongue, floral on the nose, bit of a drying sensation on the tongue
third, fourth, fifth steep:
CREAMY, this tea tastes and feels super creamy and thick, plus slight vegetal and floral on the nose. The taste does not linger long so you end up going back for more pretty quickly!
sixth steep:
very floral, still a little creamy (both in taste and feeling), but over all pretty light
Seventh, eighth:
all floral, the creaminess is gone now, however it is not a weak taste. The floral starts out somewhat light on the 6th steep but at 7 it tastes more and more floral until it’s like drinking flowers at the 8th steep. The taste also lingers for quite a while before fading!
I think I could have continued with this, as there was still plenty of flavor, but I had a feeling I’d just keep getting more and more floral as time went on, and I wanted to move on to something else.
My rating hasn’t changed, but after using a gaiwan to brew this this tea is a fun ride for the eight steeps I put it through! It handled it pretty well, but it can be overleafed and boiling is too hot for this tea as I once found out – do either of those and you mostly just get bitterness instead of creaminess and floral tastes.
Flavors: Creamy, Floral, Vegetal
