Gong Fu Session!
I didn’t really take thorough notes of this session, and instead opted to focus more on the aesthetics of the session and tea itself and just let the mood, tea, and environment take me where they felt I should wind up. I did measure out the leaf I used though; I decided to split my 10g sample into two 5g amounts so that I’ll still have another session of leaf for another time when I do feel more inclined to do a more documented session.
Dry leaf for this one through me for a loop initially; it smelled SUPER potently of dandelion – the flower, and not greens. In that degree of concentration I wasn’t sure that was a flavour I wanted to experience throughout a session. I pushed through though and it wound up being fine. First infusions definitely did have a strong dandelion taste/quality to them, but it mellowed/leveled out into a more pleasant, smooth and generic floral taste throughout the session all the way until the end.
I didn’t track infusion numbers either, but my best estimate would be somewhere between 12 and 18; I drank this one for a long time. It had a lot of staying power, and every time I felt like I was reaching where I thought the ‘natural decline’ of flavour would start I was surprised by that not being the case.
Other notes throughout the session, though in lesser amounts that the overall floral vibes, were; raisin, wood chips/cedar wood, grass, timothy hay, sap, and the faintest hint of something vegetal like cucumber skins – not the cooling pulp/flesh of the fruit. Mostly with a general sweetness to the sips, despite some more savory/umami elements overall. It was very pleasant; relaxing flavours and a viscous soup from the tea that just made it very easy to relax and enjoy myself.
I look forward to comparing the two other years of this tea that Healthy Leaf offers.
Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bens-0yledG/?taken-by=ros_strange
Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/BenpfR9lj5l/?taken-by=ros_strange
