Was not exactly sure of what it means to give a rinse before steeping but we did just that – just before putting into pot we gave a quick rinse in luke warm water.
Smell: I get nothing – no smell at all. Maybe it is my sniffer. When I practically stick my nose INTO the hot tea I slightly smell hay, no not hay, straw.
First sip: Vegetal, and what IS that flavor, its familiar…hummm… hubby says green beans … (he joined me on this tasting) I do indeed get that – sort of – not the good fresh ones but the canned kind, not even the beans themselves but you know how sometimes something tastes like something else smells? Well I hope so – because this tea tastes a little like how the juice in the can of green beans smell.
Its sweetish, gives me that dry tingle sensation in the back of the throat that I am not too fond of.
I will say this it is complex and makes me think and has enough flavor TO sit here dissecting it.
I am not really picking out the smokiness I was expecting.
Sugar apple? Really? I don’t taste that – maybe a tiny and I mean ever so slight apple peel flavor, maybe but I am trying hard to pick that out.
I am adding some sugar to mine.
Hubby said not in his. He likes it.
I just want to note how much that means – hubby is NOT a tea drinker unless it is Arnold Palmer half and half!
Now I am not one to add sugar to everything. In fact I rarely do on the first brew of any new tea. I will reserve that for pot 2. But I must say I am glad I did go for it on round one this time.
It changes everything in the flavor dynamic here.
The smokiness comes out more, the fresh straw barn yard flavor is more pronounced, and yes even that slight apple flavor is there more now but I lost the vegetal flavor yet still reminiscent of green bean juice which I realize is a bit contradictory but generally speaking when I mention a vegetal flavor I don’t mean green bean juice.
I should note – hubby does NOT like it with sugar. (he tasted mine)
Either way – I fear this tea is a little over my head. A little too complex even frustrating.
Its surely NOT bad at all, I do like it but it won’t be creeping up on my MUST buy list.
Its going to sit gracefully in the middle of my list – would buy if on sale or splurge day, would for sure accept as a gift, would absolutely drink from your stash, but just not jumping right into my wish list.
Hubby’s rating (mine is displayed) 95 – 100 since this is one tea he has really enjoyed and he does not like tea much HOWEVER bear in mind until recently we did not HAVE really good tea! :)
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A rinse before steeping means that you use the water heated to the temperature that you would use to steep (or just a little under, but not over, I usually just add extra water to the kettle and heat it to the temperature that I’d normally steep the tea, and use the first pouring as my rinse), pour the water over the tea leaves as you would if you were about to steep the leaves, and wait for about 10 – 15 seconds and drain the liquid and discard it. Then start steeping.
Thank you so much! :)
A rinse before steeping means that you use the water heated to the temperature that you would use to steep (or just a little under, but not over, I usually just add extra water to the kettle and heat it to the temperature that I’d normally steep the tea, and use the first pouring as my rinse), pour the water over the tea leaves as you would if you were about to steep the leaves, and wait for about 10 – 15 seconds and drain the liquid and discard it. Then start steeping.
Thank you so much! :)