This tea on opening the plastic bag it was wrapped in immediately hit me with a bit of a wave of fermented funk, now dont get me wrong , it was funky in all the right ways a well aged heicha should. Peat, grass, hay, wet wood.
I prepared it in a clay gaiwan that is seasoned for puerh and heicha. I heated it and put the tea in and got a little bit of smoke aroma from the tea now in addition to the ferment. Then giving the tea a short rinse and I got a little more smoke and ferment and a bit of like dark fruit, though I couldnt put my finger on which.
Brewing the tea for like 15 seconds and straining, this tea has a bit of tea floating particles from the breaking up process. I got a dark amber color, reminiscent of darker honey. The aroma calmed down a bit and the flavor of the first brew was slightly sweet , spicy and smokey.
The second brew is slightly stronger and more intense but much the same as the first. Never any bitterness.
Third and fourth brew also got a little stronger with a slight drying sensation, but not really bitterness or astringency. Also the tea has a nice long aftertaste of dark oak wood and dark fruits.
This tea brewed about 10-12 times before giving up, and got sweeter and mellower along the way. I recommend this tea to anyone who wants to dip their toe in heicha. I also think another couple years of storage will help it immensely.
Flavors: Dry Grass, Hay, Oak, Peat Moss, Smoke, Spicy, Sweet
