What an interesting tea. So beautiful to look at in its dry state, golden locks, light and fluffy, like a childs unkept hair. I get a nice whiff of choclate as I sniff the leaves. Into the pot, a new ru kiln 200ml, I eyeballed about 1/4 full with leaves. I kept the temp @ 200 fearing to scorch the pretty little things and did a quick rinse. The wash liquor wash so the typical color of most red teas that I knew to keep the first steep time short.
When I poured for that 1st steep I saw the color build right away and had a brief 5 seconds in the pot. The wet leaves have malt chocolate and a slight plummy smell. The taste is equal with the aromas, with the malt being predominate. By the time I finished the first tasting I got a pleasant nudge of energy, greatly needed. First impressions are best.
Second steep for 15 seconds and I took time to appreciate the beautiful apperance of the tea in its pot. The aromas are still strong and the flavor now has a bit of a bite to it. The malt is present but the chocolate and plummy flavors have quieted.
Third steep 25 seconds and I’m wondering if they use this in pu erh? It reminds me a little of a sample pu erh I tried made from an unspecified red leaf. The liquor now coats the toungue and the flavors are pretty muted, I am thinking of sweetening to help keep it together, but alas no sugar to be found. As I finish it off I felt a bit of sadness that the beauty this tea holds in its appearance and aromas in the first two brews didnt hold up in later steeps.
