I’ve been feeling longer steep times with the teapot the past few days, as opposed to shorter infusions in a gaiwan. This tea… hm. I think it liked it, too.
5g, 100mL, 212F, rinse plus 6 steeps at 30, 40, 45, 60, 75, 120s
You know those iconic images of bristlecone pines — gnarled, twisted and thick growths that are generally seen clinging to boulders? So old and weathered, perhaps denuded, that you question whether they’re really among the living.
This tea is one of those strong and silent types. A slow-mover. Its poetic power took me by surprise. There’s not much in the way of looks, lumpy mishapen nuggets. There’s not much in the way of aroma, a diffuse cloud of white flowers. There’s not much in the way of first impressions on the sip. It’s vegetal and grassy with a light body, but as it passes over my tongue, the body thickens and the liquor leaves a dry finish with something vaguely fruity — candied lime? Butter slowly blooms in the aftertaste. After the swallow I notice how highly mineral the tea is. My mouth feels cleansed.
The tea slowly reveals its strength. The sip becomes rich yet fleeting with umami and I experience an interesting, diffuse bitterness along with a taste of cooked dandelion greens. My whole mouth is tingling. And I’m stoned? I’m a goddamned bristlecone pine. (I tell my housemate and he yells “You ARE a hippie!” And you’re a misfit jazz percussionist mechanic. Whatever.)
I’m tired and old, weighted with the years longer than any animal traversing this earth has experienced. I’m weary. Flipping through my music I find Warren Zevon’s cover of “Back in the High Life Again” but my shoulders and my mind slump when I hear the downtrodden voice. Warren Zevon was a goddamned bristlecone pine, among other things. I need something more uplifting. How about the original artist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ollyGgvGkU Yeeup. That’s it. Let’s get some life pumping through these limbs. I pick up my napping (now healthy and happy) cat, prop her on her favorite perch, my shoulder, and we stroll around the garden in the backyard, both of us alert to the breeze and the robins hopping along the wooden fence. Hey kitty, hey girl. Love you. Forever.
Anyway, I come back in to finish the tea. It continues to get thicker and fuller-bodied and only a hint milky, finishing with butter and transitioning into a candied citrus aftertaste, a mix of lime, lemon and orange that is reminiscent of that fruity, milky puddle at the bottom of your finished bowl of Fruity Pebbles. I’ve never tasted this in tea. A very potent sugarcane returning sweetness presents. The fruitiness finally moves out of the aftertaste and into the palate on the last steep, still thick and a little buttery.
This might be my most long-winded and least tangible review. I think it’s appropriate for the way the tea made me feel. Qi to the center of earth. Miles and miles. This tea has depth and strength and a bright interior. Take the time to sit with this one. Let me know how it makes you feel. I’m curious if it will have a similar effect on others.
The only other thing I have to say is the tastes and body and energy are like some curious mix of sheng, oolong and green tea. Leaving it unrated for now. Honestly, a number feels inappropriate at the moment.
I’m willing to send off the remaining 5g to an adventurous sipper. Please message me if you would like it. —Update: the 5g is accounted for.
