I still need to try one sample per day! So this was it today. I opened this tea up expecting to find the balled up leaves, but instead, I found coated balled up leaves! They do resemble little rocks in a river. So beautiful and from the look of it, I figured it would be sweet. Anything coated makes me think of sugar! I’ve tried coated oolongs but not gunpowders. Dry, this tea smelled very sweet and herbal and slightly roasted.
Steeped, it was a nice golden honey in color. The scent was strong and sweet again. The taste was nice! It is green and vegetal (but not in the grassy sort of way). The sweetness lingers on my tongue with gentle spices like ginger and ginseng. The sweet aftertaste, however, reminds me of splenda or one of those artificial sugars. I am not a big fan of those.
I am battling a headache right now, so I hope this makes it better and not worse. I will attempt another steep as the leaves have not fully opened. They are still encased in their shells!
EDIT:
I forgot to mention that I really enjoyed hearing the pop and crackle of the rock leaves as they opened up. I did another steep of this and it still maintained great taste. I still am bothered by the splenda aftertaste though.
