Hey there Steepster folks, I am back after a short break caused by a great deal of travelling and basically being away from home for about two months, visiting Orange (California), Zurich and other places in Switzerland, Slovakia, Banff, and Vancouver. I should get back to tea reviews now though.
Here’s a tea I chose for today’s evening session, my first tasting of Midas Touch. I found it to be a good quality, medium-bodied tea that could be very enjoyable 10-20 years down the line, but it’s not interesting enough at the moment for me personally.
The dry leaf scent is mild and most reminiscent of green peppercorns. On the other hand, the wet leaves smell of cannabis, pumpkin leaves, sandstone and cookies.
The wash presents a mineral and vegetal drink which tastes like a mix of sweet grass and wet rocks. The first proper infusion is more balanced with a decent umami and a nice sour note like sorrel. I can also taste menthol and there is a noticeable green tea like bitterness, even though I steeped this one at closer to 90°C than boiling. The aftertaste is not super pronounced, but there is a hint of cantaloupe. The next few infusions produce an even stronger sorrel impression. Around steep two, I notice a strong and disorienting feeling, arriving almost without warning. Overall, the cha qi is pretty strong throughout the session and gets a bit rushy later on.
Later infusions display more floral qualities and astringency as well as notes of honey, brown sugar, fruits and resin in the aftertaste that gets quite drying towards the end.
All in all, the tea has a nice energy, a sorrel like and vegetal taste, and quite a lot of astringency.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Brown Sugar, Cannabis, Cantaloupe, Cookie, Drying, Floral, Honey, Menthol, Mineral, Peppercorn, Plants, Pumpkin, Resin, Sand, Sour, Sweet, Warm Grass, Umami, Vegetal, Wet Rocks
Glad to see you back! I’d noticed your absence but assumed summer activities might have been a culprit :)