Wasn’t sure what to expect. Would the leaves be dry? You can’t “dry” honey. Maybe crystalized. Nope, I realized when I got the vacuum-sealed bag open and went in to scoop some out. Honey coated. Not leaves in a pool of honey, though. Really infused.
Couldn’t smell the honey on anything but my spoon after I’d scooped. Brewed in a gaiwan, the liquid is a cloudy, toasty yellow. Smells like a toasty oolong, no sweetness.
First Steep: Despite the obvious stickyness of the leaves, I’m not getting too much of a honey flavour. A nice oolong—not sharply vegetal, very pleasing, buttery notes. When I breathe out… Sweetness, I think, bordering on honey. As if the honey does not directly add any flavour, but somehow enhances the oolong itself so that I am enjoying this immensely.
More sweetness as I sip. I have a feeling the honey may have settled to the bottom—as it tends to do when you stir it directly into the tea anyhow. Starting to get a sticky honey taste with just a touch of sweetness.
Second Steep: Bolder taste in the second steep, as I didn’t actually rinse this. I think I’m getting more honey. Just a faint, sticky sweetness under the toasty oolong notes. I like darker, roasted oolongs, and I think the honey goes with it well.
Third Steep: Didn’t pay as much attention to this one. Still fifteen seconds. Didn’t get any sweetness.
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It tastes all right, steeping it in boiling water? I’m leery of doing that with my oolong teas, ordinarily, and aim for a few degrees cooler.
Whoops, didn’t realize I’d set that to boiling. I let the boil fade completely (but didn’t take the temperature) before I poured, but still pretty close.
Yeah, most companies recommend that you don’t us boiling, but Teavivre and a few others recommend that you do, but also suggest very short steeps. Was playing with that first, and then was going to try cooler water and longer steeps with what’s left of the sample. It didn’t taste bitter with near-boiling, or flat. Luckily.
But I think a cooler temperature and longer steep would help the honey.
It tastes all right, steeping it in boiling water? I’m leery of doing that with my oolong teas, ordinarily, and aim for a few degrees cooler.
Whoops, didn’t realize I’d set that to boiling. I let the boil fade completely (but didn’t take the temperature) before I poured, but still pretty close.
Yeah, most companies recommend that you don’t us boiling, but Teavivre and a few others recommend that you do, but also suggest very short steeps. Was playing with that first, and then was going to try cooler water and longer steeps with what’s left of the sample. It didn’t taste bitter with near-boiling, or flat. Luckily.
But I think a cooler temperature and longer steep would help the honey.