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Preboil/10oz/3.5g/120s/150s

This is a unique and interesting tea. I’ve never had anything like it before. The steeped liquor is a beautiful, pale amber with the strong aroma of peanuts, soup broth, and salt. It’s very savory with a dark, buttery undertone. It’s not very heavy (surprisingly) and it doesn’t stick to the inside of your mouth like other teas with such dense flavors. It’s light to medium bodied with a mildly sweet aftertaste. The savory/umami quality makes me think of edamame, though I don’t think that’s exactly right. The flavor of butter combined with the faint, faint saltiness (and roasted/nuts) also bring popcorn to mind. Maybe popcorn cooked a little too long. I’m not getting “smoke” although the roasty notes are coming through quite strongly. It’s a little vegetal, which helps me see why others could call it a combination of roasted buttery oolong and smoky green tea. That’s a VERY accurate description. The second steep contained many of the same notes, with a little more salt and vegetal sweetness. The peanut flavor has receded, just slightly, and the aftertaste has a more lingering presence. Edamame, snap peas, and peanuts. Unexpectedly delicious. (I don’t even like peanuts.) Have I mentioned how incredibly smooth this tea is? It’s so smooth! No astringency or roughness whatsoever. If it were, I think it would ruin this tea for me. As it is it’s perfect.

(:

It’s nice to step out of your comfort zone sometimes and try something you wouldn’t normally try. It was a huge win in this case. I’m glad I got the sampler, because otherwise I would not have wanted to try this…and now I’m entertaining the thought of getting more.