I got to paint today, yay! Yesterday I tried painting and my hands were really hurting, and they are certainly not perfect yet, but I got to get some work done and this pleases me. Winter is always wicked tough on my hands, well on my body in general, so I spend a lot of the colder season busily playing video games and reading. It is my version of hibernation.
Today I am taking a look at another tea from the Satemwa Tea Estate by way of What-Cha, a very unique tea you can only get from What-Cha…seeing this I was understandably intrigued! Malawi Livingstone’s Twist & Dry Oolong Tea is a tea with some massive leaves, seriously I think this tea has the single biggest leaf I have seen in my tea. The aroma of the twisty leaves is woody, strong notes of dry oak wood and apple wood mixed with ripe juicy plums and sweet dried peaches. The aroma is surprisingly woody, which gives it a brisk quality, however the briskness is tempered by the fruity sweetness.
I gave some thought on how to brew this tea and decided to go for gongfu, several of the teas I have tried for the Satemwa Tea Estate I have brewed in my gaiwan, and none of them have disappointed me. The aroma of the soggy leaves is a bit of leather, a bit of nuttiness, and well hello there sweet fruit! It is like sniffing peach jam with hints of lychee and a finish of burnt sugar. The liquid is honey sweet with strong notes of peach and apricot jam and undertones of wood and apples. Very sweet indeed!
There is a lot happening in the first steep! It starts with a slightly dry and tingly mouthfeel and a woody blended with mineral taste. This move to thick apricot jam and dried peaches, the sweetness transforms to a gentle spinach and leather note with a lingering honey.
Second steeping, the aroma is sweet peach and apricot jam with a touch of burnt sugar and a slight spiciness at the finish. The texture of this steep is a strange blend of buttery at the front and dry at the finish. The taste starts spicy and sweet, like gently spiced cooked plums, it moves to woody, specifically apple wood and oak wood. The finish is gentle cooked plums with a lingering bit of mineral.
The aroma of the third steeping has the same fruit jam, burn sugar, and gentle spice but with a touch of woodiness at the finish. This steep is surprisingly woody, notes of apple and oak wood with gentle notes of clean soil and a finish of burnt sugar and spinach. This is an odd tea, some of the notes seem like they would contrast, but they don’t, it blends well and is a wild ride. Plus, the leaf of epic proportions makes a wonderful hat for my teapet!
For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/12/what-cha-malawi-livingstones-twist-dry.html
