I bought this premium Meishan Alishan to compare with the regular Meishan version. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at boiling for 20, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.
The dry aroma is of heady spring flowers, honey, cookies, and grass. The first steep has intense notes of lilac, sweet pea, narcissus, and other flowers, plus butter, corn, bok choy, spinach, herbs, and grass. The second steep has green tea–like veggies balanced with herbs, flowers, and faint sweetness. The predominantly vegetal notes continue into the next few steeps, although there are plenty of floral, honey, and herbaceous notes as well. The end of the session focuses on kale, spinach, broccoli, bok choy, and other veggies, with a slight floral sweetness.
I was not expecting this tea to make such a swift and merciless descent from sweet Alishan florals to veggie soup. Maybe it was my brewing parameters, although I did my best to follow Tillerman’s instructions. I’ll keep experimenting to see if I can justify giving this tea a higher rating.
Flavors: Bok Choy, Broccoli, Butter, Cookie, Corn Husk, Floral, Grass, Green, Herbaceous, Honey, Kale, Narcissus, Spinach, Vegetal
