Whoa, what an intriguing tea. It is very different from any other tea I’ve had, and just for that reason, I would recommend people to try it. The leaves are dark green with a purplish hue. The liquor colour is somewhere between pink and purple, also unusual.
The aromas I notice include those of char, apricot, almond, sea air and parsley. First infusion is quite salty with a strong umami and a smoky, fruity background. It is fairly astringent too, but I pushed it a bit too hard to be honest. In the aftertaste, some sweetness slowly appears, but it is very shy. It is a strong and protracted aftertaste, which over time gets spicy, sour and warming in the throat. The mouthfeel is very soft, drying on the sides of the mouth while being mouth-watering at the back. Later steeps also have some metallic (Aluminum), bitter and vegetal (spruce) characteristics.
This is a strange tea, and I haven’t quite warmed up to its profile yet. I also don’t expect to feel like drinking it often at all. However, as a change of pace from more standard tea, it can work very well.
edit: I should use less than 5g next time. It is a strong and infusable tea with a strong aftertaste, meaning that I drink it quite slowly. I put away a lot of the remaining tea to cool down in the fridge to see how it tastes cold.
Flavors: Almond, Apricot, Astringent, Bitter, Char, Drying, Forest Floor, Marine, Metallic, Mineral, Ocean Air, Parsley, Pine, Salt, Salty, Sour, Spicy, Umami, Vegetal