Steaming leaves give up toast, roast, vaguely medicinal cherries, herbs. Pours a very slightly pinkish tan.
(As I give it a good sniff, I confirm this is this third cup today that’s had chlorine coming off of it… ordered a new filter between steeps… yick!)
Although the nugs are dark and small, which typically makes me expect a wallop of baking spices and liquor, the first steep seemed quite light, so I let the second sit for far longer than I normally would — maybe two minutes. No astringency, and the flavors did manage to pop. Baking spices, plum and prune both, tart cherry, vanilla, some citrus zest. Tannins in the third after another long steep. Wisps of cherry and tannins barely hung on while it got watery.
Maybe the lack of passion for this tea lies in its subtlety; it is missing substantial body, and I can see how it might creep in and back out before anyone notices it showed up. An easy daily drinker, and certainly a lovely cuppa to share with a tea-tuned friend or lover while sussing out its corners… holy in the way it’s embraced, if not in its own right.
I gave my remaining 6g a western brew for a sipdown. Kept the volume low (350ml) and went for a full five minutes. More oolong character came through, some biscuit appeared to back up those spices… and suddenly I felt strangely protective of this little “chase me” flirt.
And then it was all gone in the second steep. Ugh.
Uncle.
Flavors: Biscuit, Cherry, Citrus Zest, Herbs, Medicinal, Plum, Prune, Roasted, Spices, Tannin, Toast, Vanilla
