I’m a little puzzled, this was a great tea but I’m not getting much of what anybody else is noticing.
It’s a bit claylike, with that drying sensation I get with wines sometimes. Reminds me of grapes in some ways! but certainly not of an oolong.
There is also a hard hitting bitter note towards the end of the sip, and a mild honey sweetness. All of this is overshadowed by the essence of something smokey, though I don’t actually taste any smoke, its more of a texture thing.
The second infusion really picks up on the honey aspect and balances out the clay. Light Pu-erh meets Dragonwell. Yum :)
Many thanks to Raritea for this sample, I quite enjoyed my cup!
Comments
strange as this sounds…try a ‘pour over’ technique….if you don’t have a pour over and a paper filter but do have a fine mesh strainer (like from a tetsubin or Asian market), just add the same amount you would expect for the serving (3g per 6-8oz) and pour the water through the strainer with the tea in it allowing only for the time it takes to pour through….visit here for an example of a Sri Lankan version of the idea https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=436697979744696&set=a.436697746411386.1073741831.435275026553658&type=3&theater
Indigobloom-I think it depends on how you prepared it. This tea can handle a variety of different brewing parameters. I’ve noticed green qualities at 160F, oolong at 180F, and black tea qualities at boiling. The tea also seems to have different notes at each temperature.
aha, that makes more sense. I went with boiling on the third infusion and that was a trip! some sips it was almost black, others definitely green
strange as this sounds…try a ‘pour over’ technique….if you don’t have a pour over and a paper filter but do have a fine mesh strainer (like from a tetsubin or Asian market), just add the same amount you would expect for the serving (3g per 6-8oz) and pour the water through the strainer with the tea in it allowing only for the time it takes to pour through….visit here for an example of a Sri Lankan version of the idea https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=436697979744696&set=a.436697746411386.1073741831.435275026553658&type=3&theater
ah if I had more than a sample I might have tried that! ah well. Thx for the idea!
Indigobloom-I think it depends on how you prepared it. This tea can handle a variety of different brewing parameters. I’ve noticed green qualities at 160F, oolong at 180F, and black tea qualities at boiling. The tea also seems to have different notes at each temperature.
aha, that makes more sense. I went with boiling on the third infusion and that was a trip! some sips it was almost black, others definitely green
Interesting. Its a very flexible tea.