Thank you for the tea sale, Ost! Hope your move went well! I’m going for the teas that are almost gone. Happy to sample! :D The leaves here look like little grass clippings from the yard, more than any other tea I’ve seen (except for maybe some of the Japanese greens) BUT instead of green, the color is black with hints of gold. If this is what Jin Jun Mei is like, I’m a fan. It seems like a deeper Laoshan Black, which would probably be my one complaint with Laoshan Black: the flavor isn’t deep enough. But this one is rich and chocolatey, bready… almost like a chocolate bread… with a flavor to it that I can’t place. Maybe something resembling an alcohol I know nothing about. I love that Verdant describes it as creamsicle. Before tasting, I would have thought that was ridiculous, but I can see where it might be described as a creamsicle — it’s as smooth as that anyway! I can definitely see it as creamsicle if I didn’t supersteep this. I’m just glad it wasn’t oversteeped at all.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // few minutes after boiling // 3-4 minute steep