Asked for tea for Christmas; my mother and her posse happened to walk into a Teavana store in Chicago (Lady’s “Lets Go Shopping” roadtrip). After a hour’s guided tour through the intracies of tea (which mom reports was a pleasure), their guide picked out three “must try” teas, this was one of them; Thanks Mom! (and Teavana guy).
I used too much in my first cup….I have a 16 oz mug and used 3 pearls, 2 would have been fine. Water was off the boil for 5 minutes or so. I brewed this loose, directly in my mug for about 4 minutes, but it took a minute before the pearls actually started to unravel and steep. From there it steeped fast! I decanted it into another cup, ditched the leaves and returned the brew to the warm mug.
It has a strong, bold flavor with no astringency. Slightly woody and an edge of “burnt” in the flavor…perhaps from oversteeping. Still, very tasty and I look forward to another cup, and another shot at getting the steep correct.
