Okay, I’m doing some testing with this gunpowder to see how it stands up to boiling water (usually, I use 180ºF). I’ll be going through 3 or 4 infusions – using 1 teaspoon of tea and 8oz of boiling water for each infusion.
I’m a huge fan of gunpowder green tea – despite it being the lowest grade of green tea, I find it remarkably flavorful and delicious. I enjoy the smokey notes a lot that I usually get out of the first infusion, but definitely enjoy the 2nd and 3rd infusions better in all cases. Here goes!
Infusion #1: 30 seconds
Strange at first because I’ve never drank green tea that was this hot. After it cooled a bit, I taste much less smoke, a deep vegetal flavor, and a brothy sweetness. Theres a bit of dryness at the end of the sip and a definite slight sweetness too. I’m quite surprised that there is absolutely no bitterness! Very interesting!
Infusion #2: 35 seconds
Once again, no bitterness and still a tad bit of dryness. There’s a sweet pine flavor that I’m loving in this one and strangely I taste more smoke in this infusion! Very woodsy and earthy, nice and smooth with a nice toasty aftertaste. Theres some sort of wildness to it, too. Theres something about this one that is BEGGING me to put a splash of lemon juice in it. I will pour it off and do so later. On to the third.
EDIT: After doing so, I figured out why I wanted to put lemon juice in. The tea was sweet enough that with the lemon it tasted like green tea lemonade! Delicious!
Infusion #3: 40 seconds
WOAH! Is that a nutty aroma? Nutty in gunpowder?! No way. Letting it cool for a few minutes while I let the dogs out…back! Okay, still too hot, but anyway, it’s got a very nutty/toasty aroma that reminds me a lot of genmaicha. The taste is really different from anything I’ve gotten out of gunpowder before. It’s definitely a nutty/toasty taste! There are still deep vegetal notes at the beginning and a wild sweet pine flavor in the middle of the sip, but between those two I am getting toasty and right before the end I get a moment of nuttyness. There is still the dryness and again, NO bitterness, woot! Very smooth and sweet. A very unique experience.
I didn’t expect the outcome at all. I had expected them all to taste bitter and gross but in the end I got a completely enjoyable experience from all 3 infusions, in particular the 3rd!
Cheers!
