Delicious! Even though I had read previous tasting notes for this tea, and understood that this tea would be sticky, I had still had not been adequately prepared for what I’d encounter when I cut open the vacuum sealed pouch … it really is STICKY. Like TeaEqualsBliss said, it is quite like a rice crispy square … only with Tie Guan Yin pellets instead of rice crispy cereal.
The first two infusions were incredibly sweet and delicious. Very honey-esque, but I was glad that the honey did not completely mask the flavors of the Tie Guan Yin. I still tasted notes of flower, and a hint of vegetation.
The next two infusions (third and fourth) were less sweet … much of the honey had been “rinsed off” by the first two infusions, but I could still taste honey tones, especially in the aftertaste. The flower notes were sharper, and I noticed more astringency.
The final two infusions (fifth and sixth) – there was very little honey flavor left here, but, it still had a very pleasant sweetness to it. The flower tones had softened somewhat, but were somehow more in focus … I could taste orchid … or possibly lily? Sweet, very lightly vegetal, and very delicious.
A very nice tea, this. I think I will steep my other package of this as an iced tea, combining all six infusions into one pitcher to see how it all melds together.
