I’m pretty sure I received this as a freebie several orders ago and have finally gotten around to it. Thanks for the sample, Old Ways Tea!
Given the price point of $0.18/g I should’ve brewed this hongcha western, knowing that it would probably fade quickly when prepared gongfu but I decided to go against better judgement.
Dry leaf did indeed have an almost grassy aroma at the forefront along with orchid. A deeper huffing of the leaf in hand revealed blackberry, red grape, baked bread, malt and cedar.
Teapot time: 4.4g, 100mL, 200F, flash rinse which I drank followed by 8 steeps of 10/12/15/20/30/40/60/120 seconds.
Warmed leaf and rinsed leaf had the same aromas, with the baked bread overpowered by the stronger malt and cedar notes.
The tea started light in taste and had an appreciable aroma with grass, honey and orchid. Tastes of honey, sweet potato, undefined stonefruit and osmanthus led the way, getting stronger in the second and third steeps where additions of brown sugar, asian pear, and orange blossom appeared. Clean minerality with some salivation. Aftertaste was lingering with subtle smoke and honey, orange blossom and peach. By the fourth steep, the flavor began dying and in retrospect, I should’ve pushed the tea harder at this point. It did have a nice body with good astringency and a moderate red grape returning sweetness in the back of the mouth. There was absolutely nothing off-putting about the brew.
This tea is a nice Wuyi black and worth it for someone who wants an introduction to teas from this region at a respectable price. I may pick up another bag of this to try it western style.
Flavors: Blackberry, Bread, Brown Sugar, Cedar, Grapes, Grass, Honey, Malt, Mineral, Orange Blossom, Orchid, Osmanthus, Peach, Pear, Smoke, Stonefruit, Sweet Potatoes, Wood
