98

After reading the rave reviews of this tea, I picked up 25 grams of it this summer. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 7, 9, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.

The dry aroma of these huge, curly leaves is of blackberries, grapes, honey, and malt. The first steep is amazingly complex, with notes of grapes, plums, blackberries, strawberries, malt, honey, fruit leather, and baked bread. The second steep adds notes of cherry, brown sugar, and raisins. There’s no astringency and wow, this tea is good. The fruit explosion continues through the next few steeps, with lots of plum, cherry, grape, and blackberry flavours. By steep six, sweet potato, orange, baked bread, brown sugar, malt, and honey take over, with the fruit in the background. The final steeps have flavours of peanuts, sweet potatoes, malt, wood, and minerals.

Like everyone else who has reviewed this tea, I was incredibly impressed. It’s simultaneously mind-bogglingly complex and very accessible. There’s no astringency and the fruity flavours jump out at you. (Unlike Eastkyteaguy, I didn’t get any menthol.) This is definitely a special occasion tea that repays careful attention. What-Cha really knocked it out of the park with this one.

Flavors: Blackberry, Bread, Brown Sugar, Cherry, Dried Fruit, Grapes, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Orange, Peanut, Plum, Raisins, Strawberry, Sweet Potatoes, Wood

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 g 4 OZ / 120 ML
derk

You beat me to a another review! The flavors are a bit different for me but it’s still amazing tea. Menthol wasn’t there in the mouth but I notice it coming out at the nape of my neck of all places!

Leafhopper

Interesting! If any tea could do that, it’d be this one.

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derk

You beat me to a another review! The flavors are a bit different for me but it’s still amazing tea. Menthol wasn’t there in the mouth but I notice it coming out at the nape of my neck of all places!

Leafhopper

Interesting! If any tea could do that, it’d be this one.

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Since I discovered Teavana’s Monkey Picked Oolong four years ago, I’ve been fascinated by loose-leaf tea. I’m glad to say that my oolong tastes have evolved, and that I now like nearly every tea that comes from Taiwan, oolong or not, particularly the bug-bitten varieties. I also find myself drinking Yunnan blacks and Darjeelings from time to time, as well as a few other curiosities.

However, while online reviews might make me feel like an expert, I know that I still have some work to do to actually pick up those flavours myself. I hope that by making me describe what I’m tasting, Steepster can improve my appreciation of teas I already enjoy and make me more open to new possibilities (maybe even puerh!).

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