heres a tea ive had for a while but have never reviewed.. so time to write one.
it looks like its rolled a little and its a darkish brown color, un brewed.
after a rinse the aromatics are heavy with roasty notes, like burnt toast and with nuttiness such as roasted almond maybe.
the first steep fluffs up the tea in the pot more. the liquid is an orange-y gold color, and its really nice to see that much color on the first steep. i just taste old stuff when i drink this tea.. of coarse theres a kind of burnt toast taste, but it really makes me think of old stuff, antiques, books, and egyptian tombs- which i can only imagine the smell of.
on the second, im thinking now that maybe this has some herbaceousness as an under note, and with some definite malt. the flavors have mended and are coming out and oh it is smooth, “so much so me brothers, that all the melanky little hairs now stand up on me arms, they do, me brothers.”
this is the first time ive gongfu’d this tea and now i know that western brewing doesnt do this tea justice. im using my cracked sky blue porcelain pot- Neptune, to brew this, with 4.20g of dhp in the mix. despite what i said earlier, i think ill steep this tea in my tumbler tomorrow morning and drink it at my class.. i brought WP’s rivendell this morning, unfortunately i should have brewed it a couple extra minutes. i digress..
3rd- and i get some astringency but it is thin and is noticed at the front of the mouth. the body of the tea is med- light in presence, as it almost evaporates. for me this tea plays out all around the front of the mouth. its not super active- kind of flat actually, but theres flavor there.
ill stop here and enjoy the fourth in peace, jk- not really. reviewing as i drink is a love/hate thing, so i may halt a review early if i just want to sip and re-watch breaking bad.
this is a good tea but i dont know when or if ill purchase again.. there are too many teas to try and not enough time.
-nycoma