All I had of this tea was a 6g sample from Togo and I managed to oversteep it a few times because the sedating energy of the tea hit me hard. After having good results from the extended steeps, I think this tea begs for longer infusions. The energy commands it. I had to take a long break after the second steep because my butt was glued to this chair. Even coming back to the leaf after another break for a shower, it’s kicking my ass again. I’m typing with one eye open -_O
Dry leaf smells like flowers such as orchid, sweet cream, darker nuts like pecan or hazelnut, caramel and a piercing quality that I hesitate to call vinegar?
Teapot time. 6g, 100mL clay, 205F, rinse plus 9 steeps, 2 of which were much longer than expected.
Warmed leaf smells of brown toast, caramel, vinegar, flowers, nuts and wet rocks. Rinsed leaf presents aromas of roast, almost burnt caramel, flowers, roasted nuts, undefined vegetal quality like plant stems, wood, umami, and another hesitant descriptor: gasoline? Dang, I’m having difficulty with this tea. The tea is smooth and nutty on the sip, quickly blooming into a bouquet of flowers, caramel, moderate toastiness and light minerals. It finishes dry with a long floral aftertaste.
This tea is complex and unfolds like a pop-up book with the second steep. Toasty caramel, chocolate, floral aroma. A little bitter on the sip. Nutty, dry roasted almond, caramel and peanut/shell, always a floral high note the lingers, impressions of cream and toffee. Something marine and metallic on the salivary glands. Finishes with banana leaf which later turns to dried peach and peach skin. Sometime in this session I sniff the leaf and it’s chocolate. The session ends on a bright note, like an impression of sunny and tart peach-orange with a light creme brûlée aftertaste. The florals never relent. I’m tired and finding it difficult to keep up with this tea’s robust yet fleeting nature.
Having a hard time coming to a conclusion. Big picture, it reminds me of a medium-dark roasted Taiwanese dong ding crossed with a Wuyi qi lan rock oolong and some Muzha tieguanyin with the couch-lock and mind-numbing qualities of indica cannabis. Leaving unrated for now.
Flavors: Almond, Brown Toast, Burnt Sugar, Caramel, Chocolate, Coffee, Cream, Custard, Drying, Floral, Flowers, Hazelnut, Marine, Metallic, Mineral, Nuts, Nutty, Orange, Orchid, Peanut, Pecan, Plant Stems, Roasted, Roasted Nuts, Smooth, Sweet, Tart, Toasty, Umami, Vinegar, Wet Rocks, Wood
