Ah, this was just what I needed today. I had class from 9 until 4:15, and this really hit the spot. The first infusion was a pale golden color typical of lightly-roasted Oolongs, and aroma smelled strongly of orchids (kinda obvious, but it smelled REALLY good after suffering through hours of class without caffeine). The taste of the tea was sweet and flowery, but I expect that to change during the next few steepings. There was also a pleasant aftertaste that lingered on the tongue, which also tasted like flowers.
The second infusion was almost identical to the first, except that the flavor as started to get a bit more complex. The flavors are still a bit muddled, but there is definitely something else present now.
The third cup was oversteeped, because I forgot about it while doing a reading assignment (Hiroshima by John Hersey, an absolutely riveting book despite its short length). It was a shame that I did forget about this infusion, becasue it was still rather good even though there was a great deal of stringency present, overriding the flowery flavor. On the bright side, the aroma was rather strong, still with the characteristic orchid smell.
The forth infusion looked the same as the others, but the aroma and taste have really started to fade. The aroma is more of a generic weak green Oolong, and the aroma has mostly lost the orchid scent. It’s still okay, it’s just lost a lot of the qualities that made it such a great tea.
