You definitely get your money’s worth out of this tea as it holds up to multiple infusions.
In the tin, the tea has a strong melon (honeydew and cantaloupe) fragrance. The leaves are tightly rolled and are gravel-like in appearance and they have a very bright green color.
After the first infusion, the tea had not completely unfurled. In taste and smell, the fruit characteristics of the tea hold up. There was, however, a very slight astringency, almost like vinegar, in the first few sips. This diminished over time. The tea leaves a lingering sweetness like a light, floral honey.
On the second pass, the tea had completely unfurled. This resulted in leavings of mainly partial leaves and approximately 25-30% stem material. It’s possible that this was the cause of the very subtle initial bitter spike.
As the number of infusions increased, the fruit profile began to wane. You do reach a point where that bitterness returns and the cups are no longer enjoyable. This was somewhere between the fifth and sixth for me.
