2021 Harvest. 4 steeps at 208 F. 6 seconds, 8 seconds, 15 seconds, and 25 seconds.
Brisk, strong, and somewhat clever, this is a tea that presents itself as a hike amidst evergreens but encourages you to stop and take in the sights.
The scent of the dry leaves was reminiscent of sandalwood, and my initial rinse married this to a nice gladelike earthiness. Steeps one and two offered me powerful cups of pine needles and minerality, but I was left believing that’s all it had to offer; this is where I was wrong and why I referred to this tea as clever.
The expression “stop and smell the roses” applies here quite heavily, or at least it did to me. I wasn’t bothered by how forward this tea seemed to be with its pine flavoring, quite the opposite, really, but after the first two steeps and halfway through my first sip of the third, I realized I’d been enjoying the flavor so much that I’d gotten carried away. I stopped myself from gulping down that first sip and allowed it to linger on my tongue, and as if to say, “Well done,” these leaves greeted my palate with an unmistakable hint of rose.
Subsequent sips had me focusing a lot more on those rosy notes that only really seemed to come alive when I took my time to savor this tea, and what started with an outdoorsy briskness really rounded off into an almost thirst-quenching freshness of spring water with a zing of white grapes. Zesty, even. Holding back a smile would have been difficult at that point, so I didn’t try.
These are leaves that don’t chide you for being overly eager, but they do reward you for exercising patience and care. I would absolutely recommend this tea to someone looking to celebrate the subtleties that can emerge from slowing down and taking the time to really enjoy something.
Flavors: Mineral, Pine, Rose, Sandalwood, Spring Water, White Grapes
