I’m sick and feel awful. But my experience with this the other day was so tasty, I’ve been wanting it again. This time, I’ll man up and do the full four minute suggested steep.
Looking at and smelling the wet leaf I’m convinced there must be Darjeeling in there. Which must be what attributes to the brightness of the tea. But based on my first experience with this tea, I’m also pretty sure there is some Yunnan in there, which perhaps keeps the Darjeeling from taking on a sharp endnote.
This time I can taste Darjeeling – I’m guessing the longer steep time let it pop out over the other tea in the blend – but there’s still some other note that’s balancing the brightness of the Darjeeling. At three minutes that note seemed easily identifiable as Yunnan but at four minutes it is less so. It’s just a slight textured presence that adds a little sweetness and a bit heavier taste.
At three minutes this seemed like a milder Tiger. At four minutes, it’s like a whole ’nother tea. Both teas are pretty good. I probably prefer the Yunnan-dominated three minute steep but I tend to gravitate towards more of a Chinese black taste profile. I do like the fact that this tea is so changeable.
