I wanted to like this tea because it sounded really interesting when I read about it. Opening the sample pack it seemed promising, smelling of orchids and fresh vegetation pretty equally. I used the whole 5g sample for 200ml of 80C water.
I want to say “1st steep” here like normal, but I didn’t get past that one, and that was for just over one minute. The wet leaf smelled much more of cooked greens with a little bit of orchid. First I noticed a strong and lasting bitterness. Then I could find the cooked greens and orchid like in the wet leaf. And then the bitterness again. And maybe that developed into a mineral-like taste. And then just that bitterness.
I don’t think I did anything wrong here because I used my Breville One-Touch as a variable temp kettle, so the water was definitely right. Teavivre recommended steeps of 1, 2, and 3 minutes, so I didn’t oversteep. I tried all afternoon to make myself want to try for a second steep. I just couldn’t do it. I don’t want to blame the tea, so I’ll just say maybe it isn’t for me. I don’t know if I’ll try the second sample or not.
