i received this tea the other day. i open it up and i tell you the aromatics are great with the smell of the vanilla, white chocolate and i think cedar. i gong fu’d this and went about 8 infusions in, probably 2 too many, but it was still a good yield i thought. what i believe to be vanilla and cedar “dust” lines the inside of the bag and comes out fairly heavily as sediment, so use your strainer! im a big tolkien fan however i have yet to read the silmarillion or the lotr trilogy, terrible i know, but i dont mind since i have something to look forward to. ps. i’ve read the hobbit multiple times.. its a good ol book.
from what i remember the first infusion- to me, was one of the best (5 or so sec) it was light and floral and sweet in a natural sort of way. the second and third became more robust and unfortunately i lost some of that sweetness, but the tea in itself is so nice i was happy with what i got. to me it gives more natural sweetness (like a sweet water) than a floral sweetness.. i could be wrong on that, i must drink moar.
i used the recommended brewing tips provided by wp ( will have to mess with the stats.) i will try to flash brew this western style, and full infusion ws. im also coldbrewing the spent leaves to take everything out of this awesome tea.
i must add: i think there is a bit too much cedar in the mix for me.