At one in the a.m. I was still awake and heard rain, and since I had a bit of a dry and scratchy throat I thought it would be nice to get up, make a pot of tea, and write letters while listening to the rain falling. While my tea steeped, I stepped out back to enjoy the sound of the rain. Lovely! And hardly chilly at all.
The dry leaves are beautiful…so fluffy and light. The aroma is outstanding, I would even say it is arresting. There was a bare hint of smoke, lots of grain, and buttery but somehow slightly spicy veggies, and for the first time I thought I caught a whiff of fine pipe tobacco.
I steeped for just over one minute and immediately started a resteep, because I don’t want to waste this and I knew I could reheat it in the morning.
The flavor is very light, almost like a white tea. There is a tiny touch of astringency, the good kind!
The warmth is soothing my throat, and the tea is soothing my soul. I think when I finish writing this letter to my friend, I will sleep very well indeed.
Next, I want to try steeping this in my gong fu set. I find sometimes the flavors unfold and pop out more brilliantly when the tea is prepared that way. I can hardly wait to try it!
Thank you to Angel Chen and Travivre for this sample!
