Dark chocolate color dry leaf with a dusty appearance. Dusty like one sees with a high-end chocolate. Not that it is actually dusty but more so just a way of description. The dry aroma has barnyard and summer floral notes. Along with a touch of smoking wood that I get a whiff of on a rare occasion. I have no idea of how long to steep. I know I could just read what it says on the website but there is a certain excitement that goes into discovering a tea fully on your own. Three minutes to start at 175 F. Not the most beautiful liquor color. Kind of brownish gold. Though as I steep it longer it turns a nice almost rose-gold color. The longer steep reveals woody notes. And some lacquer. Resin. I think I should have followed the advice (I read it after the first steep) and only steeped for the 60 – 90 seconds because it’s lost a bit. Though with a longer steep like before more flavors begin to reveal themselves. More woody notes and a soft mouth feel. A bit of cream of wheat plain and a bit of cherry and dark cherry wood.