I could have sworn I wrote a review for this tea about a year ago, but either I’m wrong or I miscategorized it. I’m working through the last of a 50 g pouch I bought in the spring of 2015. This is a tea that grows on you, with slightly weird flavours you have to get used to. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.
The dry leaf has the tangy grape smell of purple Sour Patch Kids. The first steep has notes of red and green grapes, blueberries, flowers, sage, and eucalyptus. The taste is a lot less tangy and sour than the smell, but it’s still a strange combination for me. The second steep is much the same, although the sweetness really comes out when the tea is allowed to cool.
In the third steep, a fuzzy grape skin note emerges in the mouth, and the tea seems to become even sweeter. The sweet, fruity, and herbaceous character continues for the next few rounds. By steep six, it’s lost most of its oomph and is taking on woody and vegetal qualities, which predominate during the last couple steeps.
I won’t have any trouble finishing this tea, but it’s something I wouldn’t normally reach for. It’ll be fun to compare it to the other purple tea I picked up from Yunnan Sourcing in 2017.
Flavors: Blueberry, Eucalyptus, Floral, Grapes, Herbaceous, Mineral, Pleasantly Sour, Sage, Tangy, Vegetal, Wood
