SECOND STEEP OF IT, yay!
Or actually, really, nay. BLECH. What is going on with this tea. I brought the time up to three minutes, and watched the leaves completely unfurl. Very pretty! The leaves are all completely intact, and beautiful. I love it when I see leaves like this in my teapot. It’s the plant itself, and then you realize how wonderfully connected to the earth tea is, and then you wax poetic on the universe and life itself.
ANYWAY, the tea this time was a slight shade darker than the first, and I’m getting a real earthy smell from the cup. A little bit of spinach, but not completely overly-green. On first taste… yeah, I’m making a face and recoiling visibly from the cup. It’s even more minerally than before, and the sweetness seems to have vanished. There’s this really off-putting bitterness to it as well. Not even the usually tea-bitter taste that sometimes comes along with blacks. Just the base flavor of bitter on your tongue.
Surprisingly enough, this cup isn’t as astringent as the first, but there’s really no reason to continue drinking this one. I’m not getting salty, but I am getting the oceanic taste that Auggy described on her tasting note. I think it’s a seaweed flavor in this. Bitter and briny. It almost tastes like liquid sand from the beach in a cup, if that makes any sense.
I actually don’t think I can finish this cup, but I’m going to try. But the leaves are already in the garbage. There’s no way I’m trying a third steep of this!
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HAHAHA! Sorry – not laughing at you but laughing with joy that I’m not the only one this happened to! I thought maybe it was because I just can’t get behind really abrasive teas and maybe you could but apparently, this is just too abrasive. I don’t know why this brings me such joy but it does.
I might have to make some of this tonight just to share in the torture. Well, torture if I do the second steep (I recall my first one was pretty decent). Maybe someone has the key to getting this tea to actually taste good!
Hahaha! I love it when I can share a tea experience with someone and have the same end results! I mean, it does get slightly better as it cools down, but it’s just really bizarre! My first steep had a lot of sweetness, so I bet if I lowered the steep time a little bit next time, I’ll get rid of some of the mineral taste. It’s just so weird!
And pine? Not getting that at all.
Maybe it just needs an insanely low temp? Like gyokuro or something? Hmm. I might try 140 tonight when I do it. See if the insanity is held in check.
But at least the leaves are pretty, right? :)
HAHAHA! Sorry – not laughing at you but laughing with joy that I’m not the only one this happened to! I thought maybe it was because I just can’t get behind really abrasive teas and maybe you could but apparently, this is just too abrasive. I don’t know why this brings me such joy but it does.
I might have to make some of this tonight just to share in the torture. Well, torture if I do the second steep (I recall my first one was pretty decent). Maybe someone has the key to getting this tea to actually taste good!
Hahaha! I love it when I can share a tea experience with someone and have the same end results! I mean, it does get slightly better as it cools down, but it’s just really bizarre! My first steep had a lot of sweetness, so I bet if I lowered the steep time a little bit next time, I’ll get rid of some of the mineral taste. It’s just so weird!
And pine? Not getting that at all.
Maybe it just needs an insanely low temp? Like gyokuro or something? Hmm. I might try 140 tonight when I do it. See if the insanity is held in check.
But at least the leaves are pretty, right? :)