25 Tasting Notes
Two golden tips less in the photo would be a little more accurate.
It’s said that a tea master can make any tea taste delicious.
As a novice, I take that statement as license to experiment.
First steep:
2 tea scoops (~1t)
Muji
gongfu
wash
pours: 30sec to ~7min
Second steep:
per practice of using lower temperature water for longer infusion to coax out the qualities of the tea
transferred tea, including leaves, to a pint glass
tasted after ~6 hours
unbelievable sweetness
after ~8 hours
still sweet, with a touch of bitterness in the throat at the end
left overnight
quick bitter that mellows into almost sweet
Flavors: Bitter, Brown Sugar
Preparation
2 heaping small tea scoops
Muji
35ml porcelain gongfu cup
wash
pours: 30sec to almost 4min
when it starts to deliver rough throat
is poured into coffee cup & turned into excellent breakfast (sweet milk) tea
refreshing
Flavors: Vegetal
Preparation
1 generous tsp loose tea
Muji (~12oz)
shot glass
wash
4 pours, with steep time increasing by double-digit seconds
early pours the best
smooth filmy texture
another round with a second 6oz
middle pours the best
too much tea to drink alone, i just taste each pour
the rest gets mixed in coffee cup & turned into surprisingly lovely sweet(milk) tea
calming
Flavors: Smoked
Preparation
2 heaping tsp loose tea
small pyrex measuring cup (plate as lid, plate below, merino hat as cozy)
i* >4min
delicious in wine cup
different but no less delicious with touch milk/sugar in coffee cup (better heat retainer)
ii*
delicious in coffee cup
flat in wine cup and flattened by milk
Approach 2
1 generous T loose tea
~6oz water
small pyrex measuring cup (plate as lid, kitchen towel wrapped as cozy)
30sec infusions (ea additional +30sec)
one of those is usually good
the rest get poured together & turned into milk/sugar tea
Preparation
3 heaping tsp loose tea
Muji Hakuji Porcelain Tea Pot – 360ml
Original Bohemia thick, taller porcelain coffee cup: richer aroma than
thin Meissen asian wine cup
~8x
Simple (Ceylon?) note of later infusions, as with initial ones, became more pronounced as tea cooled.
Smooooth.
Lovely bright blue flowers against black tea.
Did not do well with milk.
Became a different cup, if still soothing, with milk & sugar; much as a fine bourbon neat becomes a different drink as a Manhattan.