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Just finished a nice dinner and ready for some more tea. I’ve been really wanting to try this one. The coins smell so fruity in the sample bag, and they easily break in half. One half goes into the gaiwan, weighing in at about 5 grams. I give it a rinse, let it rest for a moment, and then do a quick steep. The liquor comes out a light gold with a very subtle aroma, while the wet leaves remain very fragrant.

The first sip is light and buttery with a very creamy mouthfeel. The next steep remains lighter in flavor, and the third steep (after I had to step away from the tea for a while) comes through stronger and sweeter, with more distinct florals quite similar to the aroma of the leaf.

It doesn’t take long for this one to mellow out, and I feel like its 3 years of age is very apparent, as it has definitely been softened enough that it does require some attention to get the most out of what it has to offer.

I didn’t really get any noticeable bitterness or astringency from it, and I didn’t steep it particularly carefully either. That could just be my tastebuds, though. In any case, it was very delicious, and definitely one I can see myself drinking again and again. I will probably revisit it in the morning, as I’m sure the leaves still have plenty to offer me.

This stuff is so tasty. Pretty sure I drank some back in December, but I guess I didn’t note it, shame on me. I was probably too focused on Zelda.

Anyhow. I usually start my mornings with green during the week, but I figure the weekend is a good chance to drink pu all day, right? 7 grams of this into my gaiwan, quick wash, quick steep. The complexity is apparent from the start. Thick, smooth and mouth-coating, with sweetness, fruit and camphor, and a hint of freshly cut wood. The empty cup smells of a very subtle, floral perfume.

Qi starts to hit a few steeps in. It comes on gradually, and the cooling camphor and huigan get stronger as the session progresses. Eventually, these aspects pull back, giving way to more hay-like notes and a more subtle sweetness.

I don’t usually drink tea at this time, but I wanted something to drink while doing homework and straightening up a bit tonight. I’ve had this one for quite a while and haven’t tried it yet, so no time like the present, right?!

Put 7g into a 100ml gaiwan and did a very quick steep to start, no wash. Pretty deep colored liquor in steep one, and it smells quite robust. Definitely getting wood and roasty notes in the beginning. Not so much nutty as grainy, and a sweet finish that has a hint of cream and a mineral aftertase and building tropical notes. I can tell my tastes are evolving, because I don’t think I would have liked this a few months ago.

A few more steeps in I get a cooling sensation that lasts for a couple of steeps before the tea settles out into a fairly consistent, light blend of rocky, tropical sweetness. I find that it doesn’t really affect my energy levels much at all, which is perfect for this time of night. I’m able to stay focused on my homework and don’t feel overly alert, so I should still be able to sleep without an issue.

Glad to be revisiting this one this morning. The sweet, roasted fragrance, the bright, tropical fruit flavor, and the developing honey sweet creaminess that builds over multiple steeps. This stuff makes even the roughest day better.

Just drinking the other bag of this sample so I can remove it from my inventory and justify opening some new greens soon.

Had this with lunch as per rhinkle’s request. Gave it a quick wash before doing a short first steep. Very light golden liquor with a gentle creamy, floral flavor that takes a few steeps to really start to develop.

Once it does, I start getting some nice, nutty notes with smooth cream and bright florals and, eventually, some sweetness pushes into the forefront, as well. The mouthfeel on this one gets quite thick, viscous and silky, which helps further define this tea as my last session of the day comes to a close.

Rinse at 100C, let it rest, flash steep at 95C.

So I was going to rinse this one twice, but decided to sip the second rinse. Glad I did! A lighter amber in color, this liquor tastes of a distinct blend of citrus and tamari, with a sweetness that builds in the mouth and at the back of the throat.

The second flash steep has an intense, super-rich condensed milk custard aroma, and tastes of honey and lemon stirred into hot water, with a slight umami kick that rolls into a savory and sour shoyu finish with a lingering sweetness. The aroma that clings to the empty cup is mouth-watering and fruity.

Third steep has more sour stone fruit coming through, and in the fourth steep, I’m starting to almost taste that condensed milkiness, and all of this carries on into the next couple of steeps. Once the flavor started to weaken, I hit it with boiling water from height and left it for a longer steep, and that revived it for a few more rounds.

This was very unique and I quite liked it. I could see myself stocking up this.

First steep: 5g, 80ml, 50C, about a minute
Decided to drink the rest of this sample today, and it came out very different from yesterday’s session! A much sweeter, gentler, creamy flavor, with an umami body and vegetal undertones. Really, the sweetness is the star here.

Second steep: 70ml, 90C, about 20 seconds
Again, the aroma really burst forth in this steep. A mouth-watering blend of sweet and vegetal, and the flavor does not disappoint! Chestnut sweetness, asparagus and umami all in balance, with a bit of bitterness rounding it all out.

Third steep: 90C, about 30 or so seconds
This steep still had a good amount of flavor and was a good end to the session. Forgot to measure the water, just filled to about the same point as before. All in all, I definitely was more impressed with session two of this. Quite good!

Knowing the nature of these balls, came into this session with no expectations. Poured boiling water from high above to rinse, let the leaves sit for awhile and then did one more short rinse. First steep was pretty weak in flavor, but once the ball opened up I got a nice balance of sweet and very, very light bitterness. Nothing super distinct, but still good! I have a couple more of these so I look forward to seeing how they differ.