I tried having this yesterday and completely miss-read my previous notes on it. Complete disaster. The only thing more guaranteed to ruin my day than not having tea at all is ruining good tea, especially one of my favorites. Determined to have a better day today I decided to take another shot at this. So glad I did. I’m on my fourth infusion and looking forward to even more.
You know, this makes me think of a certain spot I used to visit when I was a kid. Hidden away in an area of pine woods, granite outcroppings lifting out of the hillside, a little area with tumbled granite boulders and a comfortable dry granite cave tucked into the hillside. It had obviously once housed human occupants because someone had hollwed out a shelf large enough to sleep on and there were large rocks wedged together over the doorway to fill in a natural gap.
I think I might have to try finding that place again so I can bring my kids. I’ll have to bring a thermos with this tea along as well.
I have no idea what the water temp was but it was definitely cooler. I poured boiling water into a glass measuring cup, then into my (cold) tetsubin, and then into the cup with the strainer and tea leaves. I also used twice the amount of leaves as last time.
1st infusion:
Steeped for 9 minutes. The liquor still wasn’t purple, I’m very disappointed with this fact, it was more of a dark brown and slightly murky. The taste however absolutely wowed me with how much it had improved. It was rather malty and earthy with a slight metallic aftertaste. Holding a bit in my mouth there seemed to be a clearness on the center of my tongue compared to the rest…like a gemstone surrounded by mud.
2nd infusion:
Steeped for 10 minutes, the liquor was a brown-tinted amber. The metallic aftertaste was gone and the flavor clearer and smooth, still earthy but not as malty. There was also a slight taste of honey.
3rd infusion:
Steeped for 10 minutes the liquor was the same brown-amber color as the last infusion. the taste was the same but a bit lighter in body.
Definitely a better experience with this tea this time around. Sill disappointed by the lack of purple but I’ll get over it.
Edit
4th infusion:
Steeped for 10 minutes again for the same brown-amber color. This infusion seemed a bit sweeter and lighter. Not quite as earthy. A faint tartness to the aftertaste.
5th infusion:
10.5 minutes steep and the color is more amber, less brown. The flavor is lighter too.
6th infusion:
The color definitely looks weaker. And after one sip I can tell this tea has hit it’s limit.
1st infusion:
After a 5 minute steep time the liquor was nowhere near the “intense purple” touted in the description, more like a dingy peach-gold. I did try drinking it without sugar but my taste buds are too trained towards the sweetness for me to be able to taste anything complimentary without it. So, after adding sugar I had another go. It was not at all what I had been hoping for. The only term I could think of to describe it is “dishwater”. Perhaps it was just my disappointment speaking.
2nd infusion:
I used cooler water this time and steeped for 8 minutes. The liquor was a dull gold color, a bit brighter than the previous infusion. The flavor had definitely improved. Fuller, sweeter, and smooth.
3rd infusion:
The water was about the same temperature as the previous infusion, steeping time was 10 minutes. The liquor was more of an antique gold this time, a bit lighter and brighter than the last. The flavor also was lighter, slightly vegetal. I think I could also taste a bit of the amber note this time.
The leaves could probably stand up to a fourth infusion but I didn’t have the time.
Next time I try this tea I’m going to try using a bit more leaf, cooler water, and a longer initial steep time. I really want to like this tea, the description of it was so lovely, so I’ll hold off my rating until the next time.
