Decided to gongfu my last ball I have received; thank you derk and White Antlers. SIPDOWN 62
Longer rinse; around 10 seconds, and first steep being 20 seconds long.
I have hoped the ball would dissolve; but it is still a chunk of tea — I guess I will need to make several long steeps and then make short ones.
First steep, with parameters above, is very sweet with apricot fruit line, autumn leaf pile… and overall quite weak. That makes sense as the ball is still compact.
Second steep, 30 seconds, spilling the water on the ball directly to dissolve it: worked well! Stronger apricots; kind of punchy or something. Quite sweet, surprising considering the age, easydrinking cup.
Another steep with same parameters, but flavours more prominent, mostly the woodsy and “autumn leaf pile”.
4th steep, 45 seconds
Tends to be more woody, with sweet aftertaste, but the apricot notes are gone.
5th steep, 60 seconds
Nectar sweetness; that’s interesting twist from the woody notes in previous one.
6th steep, 60 seconds
Another sweet notes, but much less prominent.
7th steep, 90 seconds
Goodbye steep. Nonprominent tastes, sweet notes, but without anything else.
Well, this was a fun gongfu session with tasty steeps. Honestly I liked it more grandpa brewed, probably for more robust and bolder flavour, but brewing it this way worked well as well. Certainly I like Jingmai whites, especially if they are a bit aged. I wrote a note for myself for future reference.
Flavors: Apricot, Autumn Leaf Pile, Fruit Punch, Nectar, Sweet, Wood
Glad it went to a good home. : )