Opening:
When I opened this tea I thought it was very beautiful! However, it’s incredibly compressed. I stabbed myself twice while picking away at it. My partner told me to get stitches even.
Anyways, I also gathered a lot of tea dust trying to pry the damned thing open.
The Infusions:
When I started this session I started a mustiness which only points to humid storage. The rustiness has dried out since the last time I tasted this tea (this is my 3rd session) and is starting to settle down more. I first noticed that this tea tasted like tobacco in its early infusions. The wet leaves smelled like a Cigar Lounge!
In it’s middle infusions, it started to get sweeter. The tobacco started to taste sweeter; even more sweeter than the last time I had a session with Old Bear. There was a lingering aftertaste of wet wood that stayed in my mouth long after sipping the tea.
It’s later infusions started to get a spice to them, and the aftertaste of wet wood started to linger out. In the end, I never tasted ‘bitter’ in this tea. I steeped it at the oolong temp – 176 degrees F. I also noticed that this tea got a strong punch if I over steeped it, so it’s definitely on the more sensitive side.
Conclusion:
Overall, this is a good brick and at a great price as well! I will buy this tea again and i’m really curious about how it’ll age!
*Note: Due to rough storage, some bricks may be 75g instead of the advertised 100g.
Flavors: Musty, Smoke, Spicy, Sweet, Tobacco, Wet wood
