I’m sitting with a cup of this, listening to my cat gently snore, and wondering when my throat ache will clear up. Since I’m not 100% well, I won’t rate this tea at the moment, I’ll just write up a few notes about it. The dry leaves are balled up into pearl sized greenness, of the brilliant kind, with a splash of yellow and brown here and there. They are very attractive, and smell gently floral and sweet. They very quickly open up – most are half open after the quick rinse they received before the first cup, and by the third steep they are fully open. Make sure to give them plenty of room to grow, as the leaves are large and full, and filled my gaiwan in no time. The tea brews a delicate, pale amber, and steeps very quickly. I was worried that it would be very vegetal, but it leans more towards the sweet and floral range of “green” oolongs, and the vegetal notes are very faint, and make the tea more refreshing. I have a feeling that this tea will cold brew very well. It grows sweeter and takes on tastes of lightly roasted greens in later steeps. Once again, the leaves are very attractive opening up, so if you have a glass gaiwan, this is a tea for it. Lovely tea for a sunny, lazy afternoon, or for a post lunch treat.
