This is a sample sent to me by Russell Allyn of Harney and Sons.
The aroma of the dry leaf is absolutely intoxicating. When I opened the pouch and sniffed I could hardly believe it, and every time I put the pouch down I found myself very shortly picking it up again to sniff it some more. I did a 15 second wash of the leaves, then poured near boiling water over for four minutes.
The liquor is light to medium gold. I was halfway expecting this to be one of the roasty ones, but it isn’t. This is green and floral, but not sissy. It has a lot of presence. It is smooth and not astringent, yet it grabs your tongue with a woodsy flavor and leaves a bit of tingle while a floral note begins to hover in the back of the mouth. The floral note persists, filling the area of the soft palate. Then it travels to the upper throat and hovers there, sweetening your whole world. This is one of those teas that “quiets the din of the world.” It isn’t terribly buttery, terribly green, overly sweet, it is simply a TQY with a lot of presence and character and a great price.
The second steep is even better as the sweet taste intensifies.
Edited to add: It has been about fifteen minutes since I finished my tea and as I am sipping my water, the floral taste of the TQY is still going strong. I feel like I am drinking flavored water! Very pleasant, indeed.
Thank you, Russel, for sending this!
