I was reading through last year’s harvest reviews and I can say this year’s tea is much different.
Prepared this western because assamica black. 3.5g (roughly 1T), 8oz, 212F, 2 steeps at 3 and 5 minutes. I tried a third steep and while it sill had plenty of flavor, I don’t recommend it because of a strong wet leaf funk.
Dry leaf smelled very peppery, with some malt, cedar wood, leather and faint chocolate if I went searching, lightly cookie-ish. Wet leaf smelled like moss, chocolate and light ginger?
In terms of taste, there was a black pepper spiciness on the sip and in the nose with some malt, leather, wood and earth and a sour orange background note holding it all together. In the second steep, I noticed a slight cooling ginger spicy after effect. The liquor was light-bodied but produced a heavy feeling. No sweetness or bitterness. A very light astringency showed up in the throat in the second steep.
Overall, it’s a solid tea, nothing to complain about for the price – it’s certainly affordable. I think I’ll try one long steep western, too. I’ve already had a go at grandpa but I didn’t take any mental notes, so I’ll try that again.
