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Golden Moon Sampler Tea #13:
Today’s blind grab got me this, and I decided since it was a green, or at least more green than black, to make use of the Vaguely Asian™ teacup that came with the lid I bought for my teapot. The other option for making use of this cup is to figure out how to make chawan mushi, or Japanese savory egg custard served in teacup-sized portions, but that would A. involve finding fish paste somewhere and B. involve learning how to steam things. Thus, tea it is!

I’m glad that I decided to use the cup because it let me see the lovely golden color of the tea. Regardless of anything else, it is quite pretty. I admit to never having gunpowder before (or at least not consciously) so I have no idea how it’s supposed to taste. I guess the name is kind of a clue? I didn’t really get much (or any) kind of a smokiness from it, maybe the tiniest undertone but it tends to be subsumed by the general grassiness of the tea itself, finishing off on a decidedly sweet green note. The more I drink of it, though, the more of the smokiness I’m noticing, undoubtedly due to the fact that I am growing used to the other aspects of the flavor, but it remains noticeable only in the periphery of the sip.

Having spent the majority of my time drinking this in search of that elusive smokiness, I confess that I am not really sure whether or not I like this. Certainly it’s quite sippable, but is it a thing I want to sip on a daily basis? Is this another one of those teas that’s too subtle for me? And should it, as a gunpowder, even be subtle? Perhaps I should get a sample of the Adagio gunpowder, since some of the other reviews indicate that it is more straightforward.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec
~lauren.

Still trying to picture a Vaguely Asian teacup in my mind – not succeeding, though!

Ewa

Random Chinese characters, stylized lotus flowers interconnected with vines, what looks like random I Ching hexagrams (also stylized) in the center of each lotus flower…Vaguely Asian!

~lauren.

Got it, Vaguely Asian!!! LOL!

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~lauren.

Still trying to picture a Vaguely Asian teacup in my mind – not succeeding, though!

Ewa

Random Chinese characters, stylized lotus flowers interconnected with vines, what looks like random I Ching hexagrams (also stylized) in the center of each lotus flower…Vaguely Asian!

~lauren.

Got it, Vaguely Asian!!! LOL!

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Profile

Bio

I’m a Pole who grew up in Texas, is currently a graduate student in California studying Japan. How’s THAT for random?

Being Polish, my family has always drunk a lot of tea, and I am no different. I may drink more tea than water. On the other hand, I can’t say that I’m very particular about it; I’m generally pretty careless with steeping times and water temperature and I don’t even have a proper teapot (mostly because the lid broke during the move to California ;_;).

I always drink my tea unsweetened and I only add milk in the case of the most egregiously chai-ish of chais. (not really a big fan of milk in general)

Given that so many of my entries seem to be about my morning tea, I felt I should add something here about me and mornings: I fail at mornings. I fail at them a LOT. Therefore I often also fail at proper tea making in the mornings.

Location

Santa Barbara

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