Back in the land of “random teas from China I found lying around the house”…
1. A sachet tea labelled as sheng pu-erh. The dry sachet has a smoky, almost lapsang-like smell. After rinsing and brewing, it has an aroma and flavor reminiscent of tobacco and damp leaves, a hint of muscatel, and a drying edge. Given my (and my family’s) limited experience with pu-erh, I don’t have much to compare this one to, but I hope to try more proper pu-erhs this summer.
2. A green tea with slender, twisty leaves that unfurl upon brewing. The fully opened leaves have a delicate spring-green color, and look good enough to eat (and actually are quite tasty when I accidentally imbibe one). The visual effect of the leaves dancing up and down in this one is too beautiful to use any sort of sachet or brew basket to confine them. The flavor of this tea is sublimely light and vegetal, with a fresh quality to it—the leaves are very tender and seem to have just soaked up the newest spring sunshine. Really love this one and wish I knew where it was from.
