I came into this tea with very high expectations based on the other reviews here. I expected it to be an Experience. And it was. A great one. There were so many flavors in this tea that my mind is racing to process them all.
1st Steep-30 seconds
There is a little bit of the mushroomy smell but I find it pleasant here. The tea tasted nothing like what the smell would indicate at all. It tasted like an amaretti cookie or Amaretto without the alcohol bite. It was much lighter than I would expect from a first steep.
2nd Steep-45 seconds
The tea is still very nutty but there is almost a berry finish. I’m leaning towards strawberry. Quite lovely.
3rd Steep-1 minute
The 3rd steep is now one that I look forward to because it’s always the best and this one was no exception. This one tasted like Tahitian vanilla bean. Very sweet and a bit floral.
4th steep-1.30 minutes
A cross between cinnamon bark and honey. In a way this steep kind of reminded me of baklava—-my one true sweet weakness.
5th Steep-2 minutes
The berries have returned. They are still strawberries but they are so much stronger and bring with them an almost whipped cream sort of finish. A perfect finish to a perfect tea experience.
This one lived up to my every expectation and more. It also gave me that happy buzzy feeling that only happens when you have a really great tea. Not really tea drunk just happy and shiny thinking nice things about the world and the people in it.
And thanks to Garret for hockey theming my latest order and for the Year of the Dragon pu’er. I’m saving it for Thursday when my team plays…to cheer me up because they are slumping terribly.
