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Sometimes when first smelling or tasting a new tea it feels like something of an interaction: its scent or taste ‘greets’ you with something so pleasant that you are moved to respond with a self-surprised “hello!” So it happened to me this morning with this tea.

First the dry leaves’ ripe apricot scent drew me in, intrigued and hopeful that the flavor would bear out this promise; I was kind of excited. And then more so to find that when brewed that apricot flavor remained, although now more toward sweet stewed apricots. Whoop! And complemented by a true lychee flavor. There is also a slightly complex brothy savoriness to it which offers a good comfort factor.

I steeped it at the maximum time suggested, which is 6 minutes. I would recommend that for this tea because it became so nicely full-flavored without any edge. Likely as a result of this, the second steeping had little flavor.

Thank you, Angel, this was a wonderful sample.

BTW, I used the “What flavors and scents do you notice” dropdown for the first time with this tea, and looking through, have to say: “Roasted chicken” is a choice?!!! Come on, how funny is that.

Flavors: Apricot, Cut Grass, Green Beans, Lychee, Smooth, Vegetable Broth

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Bio

Strong preference for exploring teas au naturel, and unflavored (except for unprocessed ingredients, e.g., cocoa shells/nibs, vanilla beans, flowers, fruits…). Favorites lean in the direction of rich caramelly, malty blacks, any puerh, fresh floral oolongs and whites that have some dimension.

I am always up for swaps.

Beyond the experience of tea, I’m interested in exploring its medicinal aspects. Other interests … yoga, creative veggie cooking, environmental issues, animal welfare, music/guitar, lefty politics, preventive health/nutrition, biking, swimming, foosball, photography.

Here’s how I rate ’em:

95+: euphoria-inducing, le petite mort
91-94: extraordinary, exhilarating
85-90: delicious
81-84: definitely enjoyable
75-80: good, solid stuff
65-74: I’ll drink it, but without enthusiasm
45-64: something redeeming about it, but not much
31-44: just barely drinkable
< 30: tidy stream into the spit bucket

Location

Metro DC

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