Ok, picking up where I left off earlier.
Steep
11th – 90s – Sweetness has increased, but the crispness of the finish has mellowed.
12th – 120s – A little more bite, the color is again a strong amber and the sweetness is unabated. Going to steep at 2 minutes again and see how far I can push the tea. Probably no more bite/crispness, but the sweetness is enjoyable. It’ll be interesting to see if I detect any cha qi this late in to the steeping (and this late at night).
13th – 120s – More sweetness and the the touch of stone fruit detected earlier is starting to mellow. The Qi is Gone to the tune of B.B. King’s The Thrill is Gone is now playing through my head.
14th – 180s – Good color and sweetness. Pleasant and probably should be happy that the cha qi isn’t full on this late at night.
15th – 300s – Going for broke…. errrr… got busy and probably steeped that for more like 600s, but huzzah, huzzah! Rewarded with some bursting honey and fruit and that nice crisp finish. The color is a deep amber. Yummy. Going to keep it going for a bit more.
16th – 600s – Beautiful stonefruit and plum and peach and honey bursting out in these late steepings. The long steep times have given back the crisp dry finish, but the bonus on the back end just lovely.
17th – 600s – Ahhhhh, so good! I know that a 10 minute steep is probably absurd, but I’m so glad I took it so far. Crisp honey and fruit with a lovely thickness. The sweet aftertaste just lingers forever. Either the cha qi is completely gone at this point or I’m tired off my rocker from working such long hours, but the flavor more than makes up for it.
18th – 600s – Sweetness and crisp finished mellowed just a touch. I’m going to stop here so that I can try one more long brew in the morning and test it out on my wife.
It is far from being a cheap tea cake, but I’m seriously thinking about saving up and treating myself to one some day.
Flavors: Honey
