Yay, an oolong to relax with after a busy day…
The dry leaves smell lovely and woody and make me think of opening a really old book.
I did two rinses, then a two-second steep…
1st steep: This tea smells so nice! It’s super dark and almost chocolatey. The taste is the same way. The aftertaste is roasted nuts and campfire.
2nd, 3rd: The same, but a bit lighter.
4th: I think this tea is best hot. I let this steep cool a little too long and the roasted flavour is turning into a sort of cardboardy taste.
5th: I just looked through the other reviews and saw that someone compared it to a genmaicha. I could definitely see that! I don’t actually like genmaicha that much though, haha. I think I prefer a brighter kind of flavour? Maybe I could develop a taste for it. Now that the dark chocolate notes are mostly gone it just seems very toasty.
6th, 7th: There’s a sort of bean taste coming out now. I find it slightly less toasty, and more enjoyable.
8th: Finally I find the fruity notes everyone else is mentioning. There is a really sweet, almost creamy peachyness in the aftertaste. Definitely the best steep yet.
9th: There’s a sugary sweetness right at the front now. Such a change!
10th: Whoa. My first thought was sweet corn. Then after a few seconds a definite sense of burnt sugar comes out. Like, I can smell it and taste it super clearly. Trippy and delicious.
Overall I think this tea definitely got better toward the later steeps. At least, I enjoyed those steeps more. It was really interesting to see it change so much!
I like tea’s that turn my head around (or palate I guess would be a better phrase).