This was an interesting experience courtesy of Liquid Proust’s grab bag, one that reminded me I needed more training on how to break up an especially tight chunk of cake. The dry leaf smells nice—like raisins. After the rinse, they smell like honey, raisins, and hay.
I alternated 190º and 170º with different steeping times from 30 seconds down to a straight pour through. As the steep time got shorter and shorter, the flavor developed from a honey-hay with slight bitterness and astringency to toasty to completely vegetal with no bitterness. I would say that the last, shortest, lowest steep had a velvety quality, but at that point, the back of my palate had begun to tingle, so that might have had something to do with it. Is that qi that everyone is talking about?
This was a pleasant tea, but I still think it was a little greenish for me to truly love.
Flavors: Hay, Honey, Toasty, Vegetal
