From Dark Matter 2016
Brewed in a gaiwan. Just under boiling water.
This smelled amazing like tobacco and dark chocolate. And unfurls into whole crinkled leaves. But I let the first steep go too long (30 sec?) and ended up with just char and tobacco. This might date me but getting through that first steep made me keep thinking about that “kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray” ad (or was it a poster?). Later steeps continued with the tobacco, did no one else get this? I’ve never smoked as I’m super repelled by the taste and smell but I grew up around smokers and this taste very much reminds me of cigarettes. At some later steep this flavor fades to the background and becomes pleasant. It also starts becoming floral and has an inorganic earth finish. So a bit of a rough start for me but worth it for the later steeps. Not sure how many I got, I started to let it go 10-15 min infusions at the end while cooking dinner.
Next time I’m definitely using less tea or being stricter about keeping my initial steeping times short. Maybe even rinsing this?
Flavors: Floral, Tobacco, Wet Rocks
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yeah try just flash steeping right at the beginning – I do 1/3/5/7/10/13… or something like I would treat a dancong if i remember correctly, and this was my favourite when I did a smokey oolong test session. I liked the floral notes you can get
Yep, didn’t mean to go that long at all. I think I need a dedicated tea room without distractions. It’s a good thing there is enough of the sample to try again!
yeah try just flash steeping right at the beginning – I do 1/3/5/7/10/13… or something like I would treat a dancong if i remember correctly, and this was my favourite when I did a smokey oolong test session. I liked the floral notes you can get
Yep, didn’t mean to go that long at all. I think I need a dedicated tea room without distractions. It’s a good thing there is enough of the sample to try again!