I always have an interesting time trying to brew these in my gaiwan, because the leaves are SO tightly rolled. The second steep always runs the best for me.
First of all, my favorite thing about this tea is the look of it. Ali Shan has the most beautiful leaf-lay when you’re done steeping. Talk about a picture perfect leaf. Gorgeous large, wrinkled green leaves that fill up the entire gaiwan after only being a tiny amount to start with. The liquor is a light amber/green and it’s beautifully translucent. A very pretty tea.
The initial aroma is vegetal but not in a lawn-clippings king of way, it’s very approachable. It’s more of a mossy, wet river rocks kind of smell. The smell is a lot less floral than the actual taste, however.
The taste is delightfully buttery, smooth, more like a green than an oolong at some points. The second steep always carries more of the floral aspects than the first. There’s aspects of honeysuckle that like to peek out in the different infusions. The taste changes so much because there’s a decent amount of stem material in the tea that infuse a little less or more depending on the state of unfurl the leaf is in.
It’s a relaxing tea, a mind clearer. I always seem to come back to it even though I have left Adagio for other companies. Maybe when I run out I might go back for a little more.
Flavors: Floral, Grass, Green, Honeysuckle, Vegetal
