Okay, so I’m back with the five minute assessment. The brew is still pretty light,a very light honey brown in color. I needed to pour the tea through a very fine strainer to avoid getting a lot of small particles in the bottom of my cup. It has a somewhat dry aftertaste. It is different from anything I’ve had before. “Sweet woodsy notes” aren’t the norm for me. I’m not sure if that is what I’m tasting or not. I definitely get the astringency—I can pick up on that.I’m not sure I would increase the amount of tea used from 1/2 a teaspoon—I think that might be too astringent.
Overall, I’m not sure I like it, but I don’t dislike it. I’m rather indifferent toward it. I tend to like food that is bitter/astringent/tart, so I’m rather surprised I’m so “meh” about it. I wanted to like it, placing the order from Butiki Teas was a great experience (hello, samples!) but I’m just not feeling the love like I thought I would. And that makes me rather sad.