5g, 100mL teapot, 195F, no rinse, 5 steeps of 30/45/60/75/90s
Somehow this sample I picked up form the bulk tea section of the co-op ended up in a jar at home that formerly housed onion powder?!? You can guess what the dry nuggets smelled like :/ They weren’t entirely cloaked by that odor and I could smell some toastiness underneath. Warmed leaf also smelled toasty.
The onion powder scenting didn’t come through in taste. The tea was pretty mellow for the first 3 steeps with light toasty, peachy, honey and fruit flowers tastes. Clear tawny hue, light-bodied with some astringency. Aftertastes were also light but hung around for a while. Not much aroma. With the fourth steep, the flavors really came forward with additions of apricot, lemon, minerals, wood and cream and some fluffy lactic acid tartness around the salivary glands. Fifth steep and it was done.
Given that the tastes didn’t really open up until the fourth steep, I’m thinking this tea might do well with a longer western infusion. I’d also like to increase the temperature to see how the tea responds, hopefully without gaining more astringency.
Flavors: Apricot, Cream, Fruit Tree Flowers, Lemon, Mineral, Peach, Tart, Toasty, Wood
