Does it count as backlogging if I’m copying something I wrote earlier? Part of the reason I write real, paper notes is so I don’t get stuck on steepster when I’m supposed to be doing student-y things. Also, sometimes I’m conducting mini tea tastings in class…>__< I can’t have school getting in the way of tea, come on!
Anyway, I like green tea, but I don’t drink all that much of it plain. Usually my greens are scented and I want to explore the genre more thoroughly. That’s why when I placed my recent order at Andao I was sure to order at least one green to try out. I don’t know how much I’ve actually paid attention to the flavors before. As far as I can remember I’ve never had green tea I didn’t like, yet I’ve never really been in love like I have with scented or flavored varieties.
As I was sitting in class, I noted that this particular tea (when steeped for 1 minute with quite cool water) was pleasant, rich, and nutty. I think of nutty as something like almonds, but without the toasty quality…which could be totally wrong, but oh well. There is a sort of sweet aftertaste that I had trouble putting in to words. I settled on “green”. There are some really slight hints of what might be bitterness, but I can’t decide, that appear towards the bottom of the cup. I’m not sure if that’s from cooling, settling, or buildup of flavors as I drink. Even though I avoid eating while drinking something new, I had this urge to eat something savory and salty…which I did, and it was fantastic!
The second infusion was milder. The nuttiness is toned down, but is still the dominant flavor. Smooth. There’s a slight astringency that makes it feel clean…is there such a thing as an after-feel? Maybe there’s a bit of sweetness, but it could just be the absence of bitterness. I’m not sure if that’s possible, since I also get some slight bitterness simultaneously. There is definite sweetness coming out as it cools, after which the astringency/bitterness come out. I know I use such strong words, but this tea is not jarring at all. The second steep was actually quite gentle.
Overall I found this tea interesting and enjoyable, but I wonder if it’s because I’m still learning and I don’t know better. Either way, I’ll have no problems finishing and enjoying the rest of my 50 grams of it, but I want to do more exploring before I come back again. Now that I think about it, I’m finding it rather difficult to rate teas…I’m terrible at scoring anything, but I feel like I have too much stuff between the two green smileys! What to do?! Am I not being critical enough? Maybe I tend to only drink things I think I’ll enjoy…or maybe I’m just ignoring what I don’t like so much. Argh.
