It’s been awhile since I drank this tea…like 3 years ago.
The occasion was awesome: My Tea Sister, Sil, was in St. Louis on some kind of business, and we got a chance to hang out! She came to my house & we drank a ridiculous amount of tea, including this one. And we both wrote reviews. And we went out for Vietnamese food. In those days I was much more active on Steepster, sharing tea trades with a bunch of people, joining one tea club after another, getting in on Traveling Tea boxes, including the BBBB (the badass bitches black box), which was a box Sil, TastyBrew, and I sent over and over to one another, with mostly black teas. I miss that box!! Ah, it feels so good to reminisce…
On with the tea…
Confession: I’m not really a huge fan of most Dancongs. It seems like they tend towards bitterness too easily. Maybe they’re just a little too fussy for me, or something. But as far as this one goes, it’s a pleasant brew.
I tried it 2 different ways: First, per the suggestions on the package, I went with the following formula: 5G + 8ox @194F X 1min. Resteep at 2 min. That resulted in a tangy grapefruitish brew, with toastiness and florals as well.
However my preferred method is:
9g in Gaiwan + 208F X 6sec. Add 3 – 4 sec to each additional resteep…more or less
I’ve been sipping this all afternoon, and each round starts out a little bitter, and then sweet. The flavors are fruity, rich and tangy, with heady incense-like florals, but the really exciting thing about this tea is the way it makes your mouth feel, like electricity is running through every tastebud on your tongue. That’s the sort of thing I do love about certain teas, and of course, that electricity spreads to give an awesome tea buzz and overall feel-good sensation. And there’s also the after-aroma, wherein after you take a sip, you can still feel the aroma lingering in your sinuses. I also want to mention the aroma of the wet leaf, which is juicy and peachy and also incense-like. Here’s a link to the company.
awe…that was a good time.