Just got some really nice teaware in from Bitterleaf, so I figured I’d have a Gong Fu session this morning since I have time before work and break some of it in a bit. I ended up picking this as the tea because I wasn’t really in a black, white, or pu’erh kind of mood and I wanted something creamy so this seemed to check all of those boxes.
To be honest, I didn’t really measure out the leaf for the session – I just eyeballed it. I’m probably gonna keep this session fairly casual anyway so it didn’t seem like a huge deal to me.
Infusion One – Ten Seconds
Light bodied, and very warm/buttery. Notes of buttered greens, condensed milk, and orchids but all fairly muted and even. Smooth.
Infusion Two – Ten Seconds
More overtly buttery notes in the top of the sip, but body is a lot more noticably green and floral with notes of orchid. Finish is very lingering, and sweet/fruity with very distinct and haunting notes of nectarines! Super yummy.
Infusion Three – Fifteen Seconds
About the same, but more of that sweet nectarine note both in the finish but also creeping into the body of the sip now! It’s so lovely! Condensed milk and nectarine has such a decadent feel to it!
Infusion Four – Twenty Seconds
Less buttery in the top; more of a floral and fruity body note taking over the rest of the sip. Just a hint of grassy sourness? Not much, and not to the point where it’s intrusive. More medium bodied overall profile now too.
Infusion Five – Twenty Five Seconds
Ok, this probably got a lot more than twenty five seconds; I definitely lost track of how much time this one was steeping. It’s actually not bad despite stupid steep time though; very fruity and sweet! Less and less ‘milk’ quality to this one as the session continues, but I mean how can you be upset about that when you have such AMAZING nectarine notes?
Infusion Six – Thirty Seconds
Oh, this one is a little more buttery? Like a buttery spinach sort of top note and then the body returns to what I saw/tasted in the last infusion.
Infusion Seven – Thirty Seconds
This one is where I’m going to have to end the session – not for lack of interest in the tea but because it’s time for me to get ready for work now. This one is reading as especially floral though; creamy greens and a LOT of orchid/jasmine sort of notes in the body with that deep, sweet nectarine/peach finish. I really, really have appreciated the overall profile of this one as I’ve drank it. It’s evolved ever so slightly, but the flavour notes have stayed true at the core to that first infusion. Really lovely; couldn’t have asked for a better tea to sip on this morning.
Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/BeVzhedlGiQ/?taken-by=ros_strange
Ooooooh, beautiful teaware, Ms. Strange!