Interesting how my first logging of this tea was on a day that I awoke with a headache and congestion, and now today, this is the tea that I have selected for the very same reasons. I opted not to take conventional medicine and have this as one of the ingredients in the otc medication for my headaches is caffeine, and I thought this would be a better tasting way to treat my head issues.
I was reminded of this tea, and the sweet potato and raisin flavour notes that another reviewer noted, and I reread the reviews which all pretty consistently and conclusively list sweet potato or orange and sweet potato notes…and well, that all sounds good, though I’ve never thought of comparing tea tastes to that of sweet potatoes or raisins.
Dry leaves…in the package they are beautiful and golden, and as some have said, fuzzy. I took in as deep a breath as I could muster with the congestion and sniffed as much as I could. They smelled sweet and fragrant, and rich but delicate.
Brewed…I did my best to try to taste the sweet potato notes in this tea, and I think that having that expectation to look for, I found it, at the back of my mouth, as I finished my sip, but I wouldn’t have had the foggiest idea what that was otherwise. There is a bit of tartness, which could be what some are saying is orange or citrus.
The overall flavor is light and delicate, but earthy and warm, and a bit complex. I can sense a roasty/toasty essence which may be malty on the tongue, with a sweet-ish aftertaste.
I have raised my rating on this tea. I used water just before it was at a full boil, with one scoop of leaves in my bamboo spoon, and about 4/5 full of water in my steeper…I did not measure out specifically, I just poured it in over the leaves.
I have one last serving of this. For a straight black tea, I like it. I may have to explore more yunnans.
