The beautiful golden color of this tea really set it apart. Although it resembles Golden Monkey (one of my favorites), it isn’t quite as strongly scented or flavored as GM. The soft scent of yeasty bread with just a slight vegetal aroma wafting around in the background.
I brewed this lightly tonight, 2 tsp per cup @ 205 for 2 minutes. I’ll resteep tomorrow for 3 minutes, then compare with fresh steeping @ 205 for 3 minutes. It will be fun to compare the tastes of the three brews.
A typical black tea color of reddish brown filled my cup after the pour. The steam lifted the mild aroma of malt and yeast heavenwards, while the first sip was amazingly sweet. No bitterness or astringency apparent. Then the wonderful taste of malt caught my attention. Not too pronounced, but definitely there. A very pleasant, fresh, mild cup of tea.
I know from the samples I tried before that this tea can be big and bold, perhaps an extra minute of steeping is the key to the boldness capable. But I’m really liking this lighter version. A restful cup before bed, with a couple of cookies. This is what tea drinking is all about.
8/25/13 Resteeped yesterday leaves for 3 minutes at 205F. The tea is very similar to yesterdays’ brew; mild, sweet, less malty than yesterday, but still a good mild fresh cup. I seriously doubt any goodness is left in these leaves, but i will steep a second time with this tea in the future.
