A couple of new notes for this tea appeared recently so I decided to pull it out of my storage to check up on it too. It has a fairly dark orange liquor already. It is better than a year ago, but still quite astringent. However, it is drinkable beyond 10th steep and thus one can get more out of the session.
I find that the aromas has changed quite a bit. It is more muted now, but also has a different character. Dry leaves have a sweet, meadow-like scent with a green bell pepper note to it. Wet leaf aroma is at first mineral and forest-like, later becomes marine with a cut grass undertone.
The taste profile is a mix of sweet, fruity and bitter notes. Among the notes I detected in today’s session are pineapple, grapes, stewed vegetables, parsley, red apple, and juniper berries. The aftertaste is very astringent, but also quite sweet. There is a nice apricot note appearing at times about 10 minutes after drinking, as well as a sort of lavender fragrance.
The body is medium with a little foamy mouthfeel at first, which is dominated by the astringency though. The texture is fairly watery and not too interesting. I do like the cha qi, which is strong and warming. However, the caffeine content seems to be quite high too unfortunately.
Flavors: Apricot, Astringent, Berry, Bitter, Cut Grass, Drying, Floral, Forest Floor, Fruity, Grapes, Green Bell Peppers, Lavender, Marine, Mineral, Parsley, Pineapple, Red Apple, Stewed Fruits, Sweet
