Another beautiful tea. Much more subtle than almost any black tea I have tried. The nose is smokey and earthy much like a delicate pu-erh, with some hints of mandarin and lemon. The palate is also smokey and earthy with caramel, mandarin, juniper berries, lemon, and a light delicate sweetness on the finish. Changes beautifully over several steepings to reveal more fruit and a very light floral element that I just can’t identify.
Drinking tea is fairly new, but have had good wines for many years, so that is my perspective…
I generally brew in small ( under 200 cc and often under 100 cc ) pots either Japanese Tokoname or Chinese Yixing. I vary my steeping times a lot before I decide on tasting notes — I take a sort of experimental approach, gong fu one time, western short steeping another, vary the water temp, etc. to see what the tea will offer. Also, I will take notes on different days since what one brings to a cup one day will not be the same the next. I rate teas somewhat the same way as I rate wines, with over 90 being excellent, and over 95 being truly remarkable — even once in a lifetime. Over 85 very good, over 80 good.
USA
