I’ve decided to stop ‘rating’ teas with numbers since they mean nothing to anyone but me. It’s hard to review teas during periods of irregular weather. This one is no exception. It was only after trying this tea 4 times using both a gaiwan and yixing over a week after it arrived was I able to pick out its true character.
Dried leaves smell like sweet grass while wet leaves are floral and musky. They are largely intact, veiny, large, and very green. Initial steeps are straight up bitterness with some hints of high floral notes, and vegetal notes of grilled asparagus and raw brussel sprouts. This is a powerful tea. Strong energy up front that eventually calms down going into the 5th brew. Nice mouth feel, superb huigan, and very persistent aftertaste. It’s obvious this will age into something interesting.
In mid-steeps, the bitterness while still there gradually is replaced by thick sweetness—the brown sugar type. The tea remains thick, textured, sweet-medicinal and vegetal until it finally gives out—by then I’ve lost count of steeps. This of course varies according to your brewing parameters.
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I know what you mean about rating teas yet I continue to do it because it gives me a quick look of what I like in my cupboard.
Makes sense, but since I often look at reviews before making purchases I find these numbers quite misleading since my 80 is someone else’s 70.
I know what you mean about rating teas yet I continue to do it because it gives me a quick look of what I like in my cupboard.
Makes sense, but since I often look at reviews before making purchases I find these numbers quite misleading since my 80 is someone else’s 70.