This is my first time sharing tasting notes… bear with me… or don’t.
Let me preface with – this was the first tea that spent time in my pumador before I drank it. I was having so much fun taking the cake apart (since it was not crumbly and flaky), that I put quite a bit more leaf in my gaiwan than I normally would have.
Early steeps, all 5 seconds or less: I taste paper matches, newsprint and tobacco. strong returning sweetness, like pure sugar. first time I have experienced it like this so sweet so quickly. pleasant mouth-drying astringency.
Start to feel the tea in my 5th steep. tingling on my scalp – warmth in my cheeks near my nose, heavy warmth in the center of my chest. dry/astringent/ paper like aspects of the taste are starting to fade, but the tobacco taste (along with a mild tongue numbing sensation) and the sweetness are in full force.
~Took a break after 5, chest feeling a bit tight, and I am at work! also, I like to walk around when my tea-high kicks in so I can better explore how it feels in my body.
Steeps 6,7&8 (10, 15, 20 seconds) Mild tobacco/tongue numbing, a slight back of throat tickle, nice viscosity. the aftertaste is sweet like honey, with just a touch of tartness, like fresh white nectarines. feels warm and comfortable in my shoulders.
Steeps 9, 10, … fucked up my steep counter. (first time counting steeps, dont yell at me!) 30 sec, 40 sec, 1 minute… or so… these longer steeps bring back some of the mouth-drying sensations. the sweetness reminds me a little of watermelon. I’m just now starting to sweat a little, definitely energized, and a bit hungry.
Whatever steep I’m on now… I let it steep while I walked around a bit. now I can feel it beneath my shoulder blades… perhaps I’m growing wings. Now it is pure sweetness like a watermelon jolly rancher.
The sweetness lingers in my mouth the entire time I wait for this next steep. this will likely be the last one – I get impatient when the steeps get a few minutes long.
Oooohhhhh! it’s so sweet! I’m going to do just one more.
Flavors: Honey, Paper, Stonefruit, Sugar, Tobacco
