This is one of the samples I received from Teabento in exchange for honest reviews of their products. Now that I’ve offered that particular disclaimer, I’ll say that I was most interested in this dragon well from the outset, and brewed it up pretty much immediately after receiving the package. Also of relevance is that the packaging on their samples are resealable, which is one of those minor-seeming things until you go to move something in the tea cupboard (everyone has a tea cupboard, right? Just me? Oops), and loose leaf comes spilling out all over the place.
The dry leaves are absolutely gorgeous, with variegated jade and lighter greens throughout the flattened leaves. Once brewed up, this has a lighter flavor profile than I’m accustomed to in dragon wells, despite the fact that I oversteeped it slightly. The liquor is very pale, almost clear, and has a savory, broth-like flavor to it with toasty notes lingering underneath. I’m not getting much of a floral component, more sweet corn and something that could be chestnut, but, again, I think some oversteeping took place. With flavors this delicate, I’ll be revisiting this review in the future with a more accurate flavor profile, but I wouldn’t kick this tea out of bed as-is, either.
Flavors: Broth, Chestnut, Corn Husk, Toasty
