Well, it’s about time I try this tea! I’ve been nervous and excited for it, especially after reading all the reviews. I love the look of this tea, little buds, they look so fresh and spring like to me! I feel like I am taking an adventuresome, yet calming walk in the forest with this tea!
The dry smell is definitely a faint cedar, with some spice. The wet leaves, from what I can decipher, are some kind of grassy scent, but with a forest in there as well, and I also detect something spicy again and something..hmm…a sweet fruit? Almost like a nectarine to me, I could be way off though! It’s a very interesting smell to say the least, I like it so far. I steeped for 4 mins in boiling water, after a rinse, as recommended by David on Verdant’s site.
Now for taste! Wowzers, this tea is really unique! It’s really quite light, but there’s a definite cedar, woodsy note, and I get some sugar sweetness at the end. It’s so strange that it tastes this way, so foresty, given that the tea itself is nearly clear! However, it does remind me of white tea, so the light color isn’t entirely off. It has a fresh taste, and a warming note to it as well. It’s times like this that I do wish I had a gaiwan though, to try lovely teas like this, I think even more flavors would become pronounced! I’m picturing myself walking through a serene forest, with spring buds poking out in the spring, brown leaves on the ground, and a nice little waterfall into a stream. Haha, I love how poetic tea makes me feel sometimes :)
Overall, I like this. I’m anxious to try steeping it a few times to see how the flavors change. Once again, a hit from Verdant!
