[Review of 2016 winter harvest]
This is quite a complex tea. It starts off with sort of the usual herbal/vegetal things you have with green oolongs, then, WHAM! You get hit with some serious savory notes. There was a strong marine saltiness that showed up. Not unpleasant, but very strong and very present. As salt does, however, it highlighted the top notes and made the sweetness pop in the after taste.
If you have ever put salt on honeydew melon to help highlight the flavors and sweetness, then you will really dig this tea. Same kind of experience going on.
So, have I ever put salt on melon like some kind of weirdo? Heck yeah, and it’s awesome. This tea is unapologetic in its flavors, which I like, and it rewards you with a prolonged, serious fruity aftertaste. Great experience.
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Dry leaf: very herbal – dill, parsley, coriander, hints of floral-honey notes. In preheated vessel – roasted corn and vegetal notes appear, thick honey and honeysuckle sweetness.
Smell: coriander, dill, sea water/salt/marine, honeydew melon, hints of peach
Taste:
ARRIVAL – herbal – dill, parsley, vegetal/floral
DEVELOPMENT – salty, marine umami, nori. The saltiness is not a background note, it is full-on salt flavor in the mouth. Melon notes develop
FINISH – salted honeydew melon, mint
AFTERTASTE – thick with honeydew melon, fresh peach, and peach-flavored gummy candy. Lemongrass and coconut. Mint herbal hangs around for a while too.
