This is a sample I got from TeaVivre. Thanks so much to Angel & the TeaVivre team!
Today I officially start teaching again. I’ve been on vacation for the last 2 weeks, mostly laying around in my PJs with Tony at his house. I’m suppose to have students from 10am til 7pm, with a few breaks here & there. The 10am was a no show. I called, they thought we started next week. I get this every year, & purposely took the first week of the month off because of it. Oh well. I should be doing things, but instead, I’m drinking tea.
Dry, this smells interesting. The initial smell was floral, then peachy, & there’s also chocolate liquor in there. Very interesting.
Wet, the aroma changes drastically to hashish (it’s been a long long time, but I smoked a lot of that one year), charcoal, & even a hint of opium (it’s the floral smell…if you’ve ever smoked it, you’ll know).
I brewed the first cup western style, following the instructions I went with 1 heaping T for 1 minute. It was nice, a little fruity, floral, a little charcoal. It did not wow me. It kind of reminds me of a peach oolong. I re-steeped those leaves for 3 minutes, & it was more of the same. It’s nice, but I feel like I’m missing something.Admittedly, I added some stevia to the 2nd half of the cup & it became a sweeter version of itself, bringing out the fruitier flavors. Sacrilege, I know.
I drank a cup of Matcha, to cleanse my palate, I suppose…& some water.
Then I visited the Verdant site, looked up the Da Hong Pao instructions, & started again with 5g of leaf in my 4 oz Gaiwan.
2 quick rinses, combining 2 steeps at a time in my little glass pitcher (no stevia):
1 & 2 (4 sec) – lovely apricot color, delightfully peachy taste with a hint of charcoal.
3 & 4 (8 sec) – more of the same, plus honey, & a little smoke.
(my 11:30 student cancelled)
5 & 6 (12 sec) – more of the same flavor, an interesting sensation under my tongue
7 & 8 (16) This one has a real nice honey aftertaste, & all of my tastebuds are tingling.
My 12:30 student just called & cancelled (sigh). Time to run a few errands… Enjoy the day, Steepsterites!
