I brewed this again today, just as I said I would. I followed these steeping guidelines posted on the Mantra Tea website:
water temp 95C
1st 70sec
2nd 30 sec
3rd 60 sec
4th 120 sec
I stopped at 4 steeps.
The 70sec steep produced a decadently sweet cup. The sweetness came through like raw cane sugar and caramel, though the floral notes from whence they likely came were still on the nose.
The 30sec steep brought the roast flavor into full effect, but not so much as to drown out the flavors from the first steep
The last two steeps lost most of the sweetness, but added hints of mineral as do all teas when I steep them more than twice, but they were not as strong as I am used to in a 3+ steeping.
I liked this tea a lot more this time around, but only for the first two steeps. I would be very unlikely to try for more in the future. I think my perfect cup would be a single steep in a mug for about 2 min (when I brewed this yesterday, I did it for 3 minutes).
