I brewed up about 7g in a 100ml gaiwan at about 210f/off boil. I gave the customary two rinses. It took about 2 steeps before this one opened up. The wet leaf gave a nice earthy, wet wood, and slight cherry/vanilla sweetness aroma. Mostly earthy and woodsy. I had tried this one about a month or so ago and it was a bit too woodsy and fungal for me. This session however I was a bit more pleased. I think it had a bit of airing out to do. The first few steeps are nice and dark with a good thick liquor. Its not super thick, at least with 7 grams but was nice and creamy and not thin at all. The flavor is of an old book in the back of a damp antique store that sits in the middle of a rainy forest. A nice wet wood mixed with earthy forest floor greatness and some hints of vanilla sweet lingering in the background. I would classify this as one of the more earthy ripes not overflowing with sweetness like some. Very enjoyable though. The qi was calming with a bit of caffeine energy that offsets nicely. I used a bit more mindfulness with this session with eyes closed at times. It definitely makes a difference in really pick out the nuances of the tea. Too often I gulp my way through a session like a fast food junkie in the throws of a stoner munch session. Ill drink while doing work or doing some other mundane task. Slowing it down and sitting in a quiet room with the bubbling kettle in front of the tea tray visiting the aromas, flavors and the mouthfeel, truly one on one, makes for a more honest tea session. I find the antique store/old book qualities of these kinds of ripes nostalgic. They seem to transport me. Terence Mckenna speaks of the mushroom (tho a different kind) and about how it is a doorway to our ancient past. Not sure if that is so but I do get a bit of nostalgia that seems “old” in nature. I digress. This tea gave about 4 or 5 good steeps and then trailed but was still giving at the end. I am not one to push a ripe in the the later steeps so it may go longer. I would recommend this as a good everyday ripe. Earthy, Woodsy, and even a bit sweet hiding in there somewhere. Not bad at all.
Flavors: Cake, Mushrooms, Vanilla, Wet Earth, Wet Wood
