I bought this cake a while ago, having previously tried the 2019 vintage, but I only broke into it today. Overall, I think I like it even more than the 2019 version. The tea is very pungent and complex, I’d recommend shorter steeps for this one.
The aroma is nutty and forest-like. Throughout the session I detected scents of fruit tree flowers, plum, lavender, and juniper for example.
Rinse has a light to medium body and a velvety, numbing mouthfeel. It already has quite a lot of strength and width. It is sweet, mineral, and bitter with notes of dry forest soil, yellow sugar, licorice, and parsley root.
First proper infusion is pungent, acerb, and juicy. There is a hint of citrus zest and a strong aftertaste that brings a mix of sour, floral and bitter flavours.
Second steep bring in a grapefruit bitterness and substantial astringency. The body is medium to full. There is a light earthy peatiness present and the finish reminds me of stonefruits and citric acid.
The third, on the other hand, is floral and sweet with a decent umami too. The taste is a bit like that of shellfish. Subsequent infusion is the thickest yet and very mineral. There are notes of tobacco leaves and slivovitz.
By the seventh or eighth steep, the tea is not as astringent anymore. Moreover, its profile moves in the direction of woody, sweet and nutty flavours. There are notes such as radish, beef steak and hot hay here.
Flavors: Alcohol, Astringent, Bitter, Brown Sugar, Citrus Zest, Citrusy, Earth, Floral, Forest Floor, Fruit Tree Flowers, Grapefruit, Hot Hay, Lavender, Licorice, Marine, Meat, Mineral, Nutty, Parsley, Peach, Peat, Pepper, Plum, Sour, Stonefruit, Sweet, Thick, Tobacco, Umami, Wood
