I received this tea as a sample with my 2023 Thunderbolt order. It was actually listed on the site a while after I made my purchase and I was sad I didn’t get to add it, so I was extra excited to see it in my box. I steeped my remaining 4 g of leaf in 150 ml of 190F water for 2, 3.5, 4.5, 6, and 10 minutes.
The dry aroma of these large, silver-bud-decorated leaves is of apple, muscatel, nuts, honey, and florals. The first steep has strong notes of almond, milk chocolate, apple, muscatel, butter, honey, herbs, pineapple, spring flowers, malt, and tannins. The tea is a little drying, though that’s my fault for using so much leaf. It has a lush, thick texture and a fruity and nutty aftertaste. The next steep is a little more tanic, with nuts, wood, malt, apple, muscatel, butter, herbs, and caramel. The third steep smells like caramel apples, and has florals, bread, malt, wood, and tannins along with the persistent fruitiness. The final steeps are fairly tannic, though they’re still good enough to finish.
This is a complex, fruity second flush that was a pleasure to drink. My tasting notes were all over the place because the tea was hard to pin down. My only small complaint is the amount of tannins, both in this heavier session and in a lighter one I did a couple weeks ago. Still, this tea is well worth buying while it’s available.
Flavors: Almond, Apple, Bread, Butter, Caramel, Drying, Floral, Herbaceous, Honey, Malt, Milk Chocolate, Muscatel, Nutty, Pineapple, Tannin, Thick, Wood
