Alright, received my first batch of Samovar teas in the mail yesterday, and I’m very excited to try them out. I also have a small tin of Downy Sprout and a pack of the Tencha they were giving away, but this morning the Royal Garland sounded good to me.
From reading on the website, it seems that they like to suggest a few different ways to infuse each tea. I decided to go with the hotter water version they suggest to see where that led.
After rinsing, I sipped the rinse water (why not, right?) and was pleasantly surprised at how flavorful it was for a 5 second rinse.
So after the first infusion, it seems to have a nice, sweet taste. Similar to an oriental beauty except a bit more delicate and a little less of the pure sweetness I’m used to with a Bai Hao. I totally get the Darjeeling vibe that is mentioned in the description. This tea seems too be a bit “drying” in the mouth (how does one say this in proper terms?).
The un-uniformness of the infused leaves was a little surprising at first. Not that it really matters, the taste was still pretty good. But In my gaiwan, I found rust brown leaves alongside jade green and emerald green ones, in addition to the buds. Like I said, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t want to sound like a tea snob, I just noticed it when I looked in :-D
I’ll be curious to try this tea with the lower temperature preparation as well!
