A full-flavored, all-round balanced tea that went well for me in the morning and something I would happily drink in the afternoon. It could work well both as a sipper and as something you’d sit down to appreciate for flavor.
There is definitely a touch of honey in smelling the cup but I could also smell hoppy notes. It tastes pleasantly bitter which translates into smooth coating bitterness in aftertaste. Again I can’t help but compare it with good ale aftertaste and hoppy lager coated glass smell. I haven’t noticed any mentioned smokiness or sweetness but there is definitely “this is what black tea should taste like” aspect to it.
In gaiwan it resteepeed graciously for about 5 times, after that keeping the color, flavor starts to diminish which I found perfect for washing off the strong taste of this tea from previous infusions. Interestingly enough the pleasant aftertaste stays for a long time. Overall I did about 10 infusions and latter ones were interesting on it’s own. Overall lightness of those brings out notes very well.
I made note to self that first infusions need to be kept to a short time in order to avoid overpowering bitterness and to appreciate delicate balance of flavor of this tea.