12s(rinse)/15s/15s/15s/15s/15s/15s/15s/20s
Dry leaves are flat and spring green with hints of purple at the base of some stems, small/medium in size and unbroken. The smell inside the gaiwan is strongly vegetal with hints of hay, seaweed, and a slight wet rock minerality. Once the leaves are rinsed, the aroma transforms into a stonger barnyard scent with more compost elements. The first (rinse) steep yields a glowing pale yellow broth with exquisite clarity. The yellow tends (very mildly) towards a green and has no red or umber undertones which is maintained through the first 5-6 infusions before softening into a barely tinted broth.
In early infusions, the flavor is also vegetal and resides in the back of the throat with hints of straw and broccoli but lightens and sweetens into something softer and more floral with a buttery mouthfeel. While the tea description promises a delicate orchid fragrance, I think the closest I got was a hint of geranium on the tip of my tounge at the end of the later steeps. The flavor does linger in the back of the throat but it certainly resides more strongly in the vegetal family.
Brewed in 65 ml ceramic gaiwan, this tea is 1 of the 10 included in the Chinese Tea Discovery set on offer by the Tong Xin She teahouse
Flavors: Broccoli, Geranium, Straw, Vegetal
