1.5 tsp for 300mL water @ 90C, steeped 3 minutes 30 seconds, no rinsing, first infusion.
A short infusion for me, as I’m planning multiple infusions tonight … though even when I steep this gorgeous tieguanyun a long time, I can still get at east two more cuppings from it. On this infuse I am getting a much more springlike sharpness, very green and bright, versus the heady floral tones a 4-minute steep gives me. More of a mineral note this way, too. Complex. And a joy.
I am nearly out of this beautiful tea, and I am telling myself not to hoard the last few scoops but just drink it now and revel in its beauty. There will, of course, more more autumn tieguanyin (I do prefer the autumn tieguanyin to the spring, but the spring is lovely, too), but there will be no more of this 2012 harvest. Hoarding this, saving it for some unattainable special last time, would do this tea, and all oolong, a disservice. Drink it now. The day doesn’t have to be special, but the oolong can make the day special for you.
Flavors: Apricot, Berries, Bread, Butter, Cedar, Cream, Fir, Flowers, Grass, Mineral