Today I heeded the advice of steeping it after the boiled cooled down a bit and got a completely different experience. In the past I poured it into my cup right as the water was boiling…oops! I also did my first steep at 4 min because that’s what the back of the bag said, now I see that I should have only done 2 minutes. Oops again!! This was consumed without any sweeteners or additives.
I definitely expected this to be a very jasmine-y tea, when you smell the leaves that was predominant. But even if you get past the floral smell they leaves just smell yummy, so fresh!
My first steep yielded a light amber/greenish brew. Surprisingly, I can actually taste the white, green, AND oolong. When it was hot, I mostly could taste the fresh white with some of the green vegetal notes. It was smooth, which was a surprise because I’ve gotten so used to green-type teas having a bitter ending. As it cooled down (i drink my tea sloooow) it was the oolong that was the predominant flavor. Unfortunately, there was more astringency as the oolong came out, but I honestly don’t mind because I kind of like a tea with a small kick. It wasn’t overpowering at all and I still consider it to be a very delicate cup. I love watching how all the leaves unfurl, beautiful!
I’ve been pleasantly surprised with this tea, even though I initially found it to be BORING. I guess I got so accustomed to brewing bagged tea at basically any temperature that I neglected to heat the water properly. So DEFINITELY make sure you heat around 175 degrees or you will be disappointed. Too hot and you won’t get much white or green, too cold and you won’t get much of anything. Brewed properly, it is one of my favorites!
And does the fact that drinking one cup makes me run to the bathroom every 10 min mean that it’s detoxifying?
After the first brew it lost most of its subtleties. I couldn’t taste the white, the green was very grassy, and the oolong was more astringent. Fortunately, I can still make 5 cups with one teaspoon….just the first brew tastes much different than the new four.
