I have PC envy again!! The newest update for Ark came out on PC today and wow, I cannot wait til the Xbox has it, finally we get Allosaurus! Along with the new mod Primitive+ which I am so playing with my mom, because we are nerds, and some other awesome things like the Center getting an update. As much as I am sad about waiting a few weeks for our end of the update, I love what they posted in the update release notes! They admitted that rushing the update for the Xbox caused a LOT of problems (oh the bugs…) and they were going to do a better job of making sure this update is not a giant pile of bugs. Yay! I am glad they realized there was a serious problem and are fixing it, go Wildcard!
Continuing on the Gramercy Tea week with another green tea, Bamboo Bud, also known as Zhu Ye Qing, a Sichuan tea with very striking leaves, looking like their namesake. Seriously, it is hard to not just sit and ogle the leaves, so vibrantly green and looking like they just came from the tea plant. The aroma of the adorable needles is a combination of green and sweet, with notes of bamboo leaves, bok choy, edamame, and a sweet nutty sesame seed and honey finish, reminding me of my favorite sesame seed candies.
I decided for this tea to break out my very rarely used tall gaiwan set, bought several years ago specifically for these long needled teas. A classic way to enjoy this tea is brewing in a tall glass, but I wanted to use the neglected gaiwan. The aroma of the brewed leaves is a bit peppery with notes of lettuce, cabbage, and peas, with a finish of edamame and chervil. The aroma of the first steep is lightly sweet with notes of snap peas and sesame with a touch of chestnuts.
Ah, the first steep is quite crisp! Nice notes of sesame seeds and sweet peas start it out, then it moves to more green notes of cabbage and broccoli with a bit of a peppery arugula note at the finish. The mouthfeel is pleasantly light while being crisp, much like biting into lettuce, but warm.
Onward to the next steep, the aroma is continuing in the sweet and nutty with gentle green quality, very reminiscent of springtime. This steep really showcases the green aspect of the green tea, starting with notes of sweet peas and bamboo leaves. It then moves to an herbaceous quality of parsley and a touch of chervil. The finish is a gentle note of fresh lettuce and cabbage with a sweet aftertaste like spring rain.
For the final steep, the aroma and taste is pretty light, gentle spring rain and bamboo leaves with a slight sesame sweetness. The taste starts very light, bamboo leaves and lettuce with sweet peas, and this carries on to the finish. Not a very long lasting tea, but still quite tasty and the crispness is very refreshing.
For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/07/gramercy-tea-bamboo-bud-tea-review.html
I love the lighting of the pictures on the blog. Beautifully captures the tea liquor color. Have you also tried it in a glass? A gaiwan definitely brews a better cup, but the view of the Zhuyeqing leaves in a glass is unbeatable :)