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Andrews & Dunham could take over the world. Seriously. They’ve got heart stealing marketing down pat. Their service, tin art, value, exclusivity are a titanium trap for life time loyalty. Oh, and the tea can induce swooning and tears of joy. That helps.
And their new rabbit snare caught a frog. A&D now have first priority in my purchasing for life. I think I’m in love.

Not much of a scent from the leaf but what it lacks in aroma it makes up for in visual delight. The leaves are a nice mix of green and silver. It’s like confetti! Perfect for the Lunar new year. Oh, wow, they’re really packed in. One has to fluff the leaf just to extract it!
First infusion: 1 “Fluffed” TBSP for 7:35 minutes, eight oz 205 F water in a glass teapot
Rather dark for bai mu dan! The aroma is quite strong too. Forest honey, honeysuckle, wakame and hijiki. Ooh, matching taste! A bit too strong for white but that’s my fault. The lid did not want to go back on the tin (tha’s good actually; I need a deterant from drinking this every meal…)
Next time try it at six minutes and see if I can get a stronger flavor in the next two steeps.

Second: Six oz water in 205F water for 10 minutes Third: 12 Fourth: 15
Yeah, that extra thirty seconds at this high a temperature exhausted the poor little bunny. Much weaker and smilar, but not as sweet. Given that the brothy vanilla taste is still hanging about, that’s quite fine. Perfect actually. The first sweet infusion one wants to gulp down in thirst, then smaller, more savory infusions to drink carefully and slowly. A cup lasts all evening if one is patient. These three infusion slowly slipped from honeyed oceanic hay to clear vegetable broth with some wood notes popping in and out.

Edit: Fifth, Sixth: 25
I was going to stop at four but after hearing that six was possible and looking at the festive, verdant leaves in the the pot, I had to try. I actually didn’t mean to leave them so long but I did forget they forgave! Not a tinge of bitterness!

Seventh: 35 minutes with 3 0z 185F water to start and left on a warmer that hadn’t fully warmed
I had to try. I don’t want it to end!
And it worked! Two long sips of perfectly smooth clear vegetable broth that definately included wakame in its production. But it was very thin broth, and definately the last infusion it would give. Still, amazing. Happy hopping lunar new year.

I accidentally poured the water into my cups an extra time and it brought out a sweeter taste that I’ve only gotten from higher grade matchas before. So around 160 F? Hmm…It’ll have to wait until tomorrow. This was my second chawan. Three in one day would remove the economy of Liquid Jade to match the matcha to its name …

I’m onto you, list. You can’t hide those pods forever.

This groundhog’s day started with the sound of branches being wrenched from the tree across the street.
Automatically I switched on BBC and start Morning Chores with an Everything-Is-Normal-And-The-World-Shall-Not-Collapse tea from JoeCool. Cairo issues again.
Not using force? That’s good. Slurp- Ooh, nice sweet, fruity malt.
Exactly the familiarity I needed.
Too familiar. This is just like my two current keemuns I’m sick of. Oh well. Still good and smokey sweet. I would imagine this pairs well with BBQ seitan and eggplant.
Ugh. Two hours sleep. A.D.D tasting note. Nearly eleven. Need matcha.

Second steep: Amazingly just as strongly floral as the first steep and as pleasanperfect with a dash of Ditty Bops. Very smooth.

Third Steep: Still as deliciously floal as the first steep! This maybe due to what I thought was over steeping (Six minutes!). Surprisingly, the brothy mushroom taste has receded before the flowers.

I wanted to start this Sunday off happily so I picked a tea from my swap with Ellen and a few tracks of the Puppini Sisters and a blood orange to shake off sleep. They pair like a good trio should.

Very delicious! There’s something brothy about it hot with fruity notes I can’t pinpoint. Non-malodious Durian? (Whoo, there’s an oxymoron) There’s nice chocolate taste that slides around with the mushroom broth flavor. Mmm! Another meal in a teapot. Now I want chocolate mushroom miso shiru for breakfast…

Wow, this is a fruity steep! It tastes like plum gum!Not much caramel like this but there is some of the grassiness I wanted. Very unique! There’s another purple fruity taste that I can’t name…not blueberry…oh! Acai berry?! Yeah! I’m definately uping my rating for this.

Second steeping: A little weaker but the same over all.

Third steeping: The caramel came back. Caramelized plum gum. Hmm. Gourmet fruit gums? I’d buy that. I wish this flavor was a little stronger. Very nice and hydrating.
This is a high quality sencha but not for me. Fascinating and enjoyable but not for me; I like grassy, vegetal sencha. Highly recomended for the oolong drinker or anyone who wants to taste plum gum. Big thanks to Joy’s Teaspoon for the sample!

Second infusion: Same, 185 F for 2:45
Ah, there’s a little sencha grassiness. Still very light and woody. More like second steeping kukicha. This is the sencha that doesn’t want to be one!

Dry leaf: It smells quite sweet and light. it gives me the image of a pile of freshly cut clover hay fluffed together with straw. A little whiff of something fruity? Peach? Mm! I just want to drive right in!

First steep: 5 Oz. Trader Joe’s Artisian water at 180 F for two and a half minutes
Smells sweet and a very much like the leaf! It takes like it too, sweet and light, just as anticiapted. Very woody wth some caramel notes as it cools. No grassiness at all but it was such a low temperature. it reminds me very much of a Chinese oolong like this. Probably the peach notes. Ye-ap. Smells peachy tastes peachy too!
It’s surprisingly astringant for such a light steep! I’m not even done and I feel alert and thirsty!

Ooh, I’ve got to try this at a higher temperature!