Am I grumpy today or what(nothing to do with this tea). Happy Greek Easter I guess. Some humor related to my ethnicity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfXIWYdL8dU
Picked up a 200mL duanni teapot and christened it last night with 12g of Swinedog 76 all to myself. Given the character of the tea, the name looks better in all caps: SWINEDOG 76.
Twelve grams of tea that is proclaimed by its maker as “punishing everything and everyone foolish enough to get in its way.” In the words of that bold twat Bill O’Reilly, “Fuck it, we’ll do it live!” Needless to say with that much leaf and the power behind this tea, I only made it 4 steeps in before calling it a night. Finishing it up over the course of today.
Bitter lovers and body feel junkies sign up here. Strength, power, masculinity. Angular, penetrating, grounding. I was expecting to want to move my body around but ultimately I wanted to sit across from somebody, cross-legged on the floor. Meditative uprightness. I wanted to communicate telepathically while staring into some eyes. How fucked up is that? My chest was thumping. I was waaay out there but also very much here and in the moment. Strings of energy coming out my fingers. I wanted to touch, too. I wanted to heal and nurture. I wanted honesty and completely open non-verbal communication with somebody. Another reviewer mentioned this tea as giving the feeling of a bullshit-proof vest. I can fully embrace that notion. My experience wasn’t all as serious as it sounds, with plenty of laughing when I finally emerged from my cave to release some of that energy with the aid of Housemate #1 who understands these things.
Maybe I’ll update but for now, some descriptors: full-mouthed bitterness, oily, very pungent herbs, granny smith like apple tartness, creamed honey, some florals and smoked sausage, wood, hay, light osmanthus-apricot on swallow but not much for a lingering aftertaste. Returning sweetness is quick to show and feels like it’s in my tonsils and deep in my throat.
This tea demands you drink cup after cup in quick succession. There is nothing delicate to relax in and savor here. A series of straight lines from pot to cup to hand to mouth to gullet to ground.
That sounds like quite the experience!
I have some left in my sample if you’d like to try it, Todd.