This is as close to a standard item as my work tea collection has. I believe I’ve gone through three tins over the course of two jobs. Admittedly it’s gotten to be an emotional thing as much as a taste thing: I started drinking it soon after moving back to my hometown, someplace I’d wanted to be for a long time, and it has a connotation of civilized enjoyment, happiness, and health for me. When something has such a nice feeling associated with it, you’ll drink it no matter how much more you learn about tea over time…!
I do a particularly quick steep on this, sometimes as little as a ten-second dip, which yields a brew with only a pale brown color; today I did a full minute, which is slow for me with this tea (and in a brown mug, so I couldn’t tell you the color of the brew). With a quick steep, you avoid any bitterness or tannins. All you get is the vegetal flavor that I really like in this. The fruit, on the other hand, gets short shrift—but even with a much longer steep, it is never that strong in this tea. Although I normally love fruity teas and tend to bring the fruit out with lots of sugar, I drink this one plain, preferring the mere suggestion of fruit. I think it’s just that I like the Chinese green base so much. To me it tastes like grass, vegetables, freshness, and healthiness. And, of course, it tastes like happy feelings!
Example of how much my mom hates tea: she sipped some of this and said it tasted like dirty water. eye roll Thanks, Mom! (She does love bubble tea, but only because of the tapioca at the bottom, I think!)
