I’m surprised no one else seems to have reviewed this one? When I saw it up on Bitterleaf’s site I was FASCINATED by it. It just looks so… different.
And of course, I cracked the bag of it today too and immediately I was just drawn to the visual look of the dry leaf. It’s so weirdly shaped; I definitely see the “crab legs” comparison. The leaf itself is also weirdly tender/bendy – unlike tea leaf this has a LOT of give to it. I kind of just want to play with it, if I’m being honest…
So, I made this one up as a pot of tea – and originally I only steeped it for about six minutes because generally speaking that’s kind of my sweet spot with herbals/tisanes. When I poured my first cup, it was VERY mild/delicate though. Essentially, it just tasted like somewhat sweetened water. Which I suppose, in a way, it sort of was. I finished the cup and it was nice enough, but I was sure that there had to be some other flavour this tea could offer so I grabbed the tea leaf that I had just strained out of the water, and popped it right back in there to steep Grandpa style while I finished off the pot.
Even after a near hour of steeping, the liquor of this ‘tea’ is still practically clear like water. It has the FAINTEST yellow hue to it, but it’s just so soft and delicate. The flavour is like that too; just a very refreshing, smooth and delicate profile. It’s like sweet water, but now with the longer infusion it also has some very delicate floral notes and a finish that’s really raisin like. I’m actually really enjoying it, even if it is SUPER delicate/mild. There’s just something so unique and fascinating about it, too.
I feel pretty genuine in saying that I’m not sure I’ve tasted anything like it. It’s something I REALLY want to keep exploring/messing about with!
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Glad you had a relatively positive experience with the crab legs! It’s a bit hard to know what to expect the first time. I recommend throwing some in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes to get more flavour out, similar to what you can do with lao cha tou or aged white teas.
Haha, I’m not the only one to find this fascinating! I’d love a big bag of these.
Glad you had a relatively positive experience with the crab legs! It’s a bit hard to know what to expect the first time. I recommend throwing some in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes to get more flavour out, similar to what you can do with lao cha tou or aged white teas.
Haha, I’m not the only one to find this fascinating! I’d love a big bag of these.