The 7g mini cake is very dry looking and unusually powdery, I think there’s something wrong here.
After a rinse it crumbles and opens quickly revealing loads of tea particles, powder and tiny fragments of leaves. The first step is cloudy, fruity, with dominating astringency and bitterness. Peach aroma. I immediately get a stimulating and unnerving feeling, plus some mental slowness.
the second flash steep is dark orange, cloudy and overwhelmingly bitter. Undrinkable. I remove some leaves from the gaiwan, and I throw the second steep down the sink.
Actually I don’t feel like keep drinking this, now is basically a brownish tea paste. Taste and aroma are harsh and confused. Disgusting.
I’d like to try the real thing one day.
Preparation
Boiling
7 g
3 OZ / 100 ML
Minis just don’t have the quality of a full pressed cake. I rarely brew them myself.
Good to know! This one was especially dry and powdery in a way I’ve never seen before.
I keep all my minis in the open only in case of dire emergency stash. I have enough other stuff here for a few lifetimes though.