I took Whispering Pines at their word and steeped 1 tbsp in 8 oz for 1/1.5/2/3/4 minutes. They suggest going up to 7 steeps, so I’ll try that next time when I can spend several house enjoying it. And enjoy I did:
Dry leaves: nondescript, tightly twisted, but a pleasantly dusty and perhaps melon scent
1: nothing jumped out except a bit of honey
2: the leaves gave me fading roses and the darker liquor was smooth, rich, and slightly tannic
3: even more rose scent and the flavor a bit of melon
4: still going strong and smooth, the melon even stronger. I think this might be the sweet spot among the steeps.
5: no change in the notes, but it still has subtle flavors. Pretty impressive for just 1 tbsp of tea in twice the water my gaiwan holds
I’ll keep trying this one because I suspect there’s more to it than I am detecting. All around, a fine tea that I could sit with for a while. It would be particularly fun to do several steeps with someone else and compare notes.
Flavors: Honey, Melon, Rose
