Alright, having another go at this one. Reduced steeping time to 2 minutes, and the temp down to 200*. The odd flavor that I was thinking was “dusty” is still kinda there, and there’s still astringency (quite a bit for only 2 minutes), but I think what I’m getting now is more…meaty? Proteiny? It’s so hard to find the words for it. It’s much more palatable at this time/temp…I’m still not really getting much bergamot taste, though.
Okay, after thinking on this tea, it reminds me of those paper tasting strips in my genetics class. Did anyone else do that? They’re little strips of paper that have chemicals in them…some people can taste these compounds, some can’t, and the ability to taste each different compound is, apparently, a single gene trait. I don’t remember which ones we did, but I do remember being the only one who had to run out of the room to rinse my mouth out after trying one of them.
Okay, back to the tea…I did get a better cup this time around, and, in fact, actually finished the pot. I think I’ll shorten the steep even more next time around.
(And a big thanks to LiberTEAS for taking the time to help me out with this blend. You’re awesome!)
