Another sample provided by Angel at Teavivre. This one is smack your lips good! (even though smacking lips is one of my biggest pet peeves lol) Thank you!!
First steep, one min. At first it was mostly just a roasted nutty flavor , which I was enjoying, with an occasional fleeting floral note. As I neared the bottom of the cup it got increasingly sweet and bakey, like whatever oven it had been roasted in was also used to bake bread, and the tea had soaked up bread nuances. Bread is kind a big deal for me. I have several close relatives and friends that are either celiac or gluten intolerant; I’m hanging on to bread with everything I’ve got!! :P
2nd steep, two min. Mmm it smells so good! I’m trying to wait to sip it, my experiences so far have proven that it tastes the best when it’s cooled a minute or two. I busied myself with getting my daughters lunch ready. She has the strangest tastes for a two year old. We had leftovers from a Japanese place and she was so excited to get edamame (Beans!!!) and stir fried noodles (Noodles!!!). Now that she’s preoccupied, back to my tea! So far this steep is primarily roasty, with some barely discernible floral notes. That oh-so-sweet baked bread profile returns somewhere around the middle of the cup, and strangely more floral notes as well. It’s delicious.
This tea doesn’t strike me as a typical Tieguanyin; isn’t it usually greener, and more floral, not so roasted? Either way, I like this tea! I’m going to save the leaves for steepings later, it doesn’t taste nearly done!
