From the annals of “what the hell was I thinking when I made this tea.” This tastes no different than the broken-leaf version of this tea that I tried last week. Not sure why I thought the whole-leaf version would taste any different, which is to say it tastes like nothing. Nada. Zilch. Bupkes.
It’s a beautiful-looking tea, but it has no personality whatsoever. The only difference is that, because this is a whole-leaf tea, it has a longer steeping time than its broken-leaf version — five minutes versus three.
But, overall, it tastes like Ashoken Reservoir water, which is what comes out of the taps Upper East Side Manhattan residents’ apartment, and which is what I made this tea with. This tea has a nuance of air and the rich aftertaste of a deep-space vacuum.
Can’t see writing much more about this. I wasted my time drinking this tea. I won’t waste your time making you read more about it.
In fact, I want the last 3 minutes of my life back. I demand a refund.
Just kidding. Happy Holidays! Hope you drank something better than this let down.
Happy holidays, T. Enjoy the respite from school. I’ve got a slew of samples from Upton’s in the pantry and an order from Rishi that should be here any day now, so something better is bound to show up in my cup. And, hey, keep those entertaining posts coming.
Oh, I am. And I’ll be ordering some of that Yunnan stuff you keep yammering about. I suspect that Samovar and Rishi may source from the some of the same farms, so I’m going to laugh if I find myself getting some deja vu with some of this stuff.
And I’ll do my best to keep posting! Hopefully entertainingly. [That doesn’t look like it should be a word, but apparently it is. I don’t think I used it correctly though. Anyway, message deployed.] You keep posting, too! And everyone else, YOU KEEP POSTING, TOO! YOU HEAR ME, EVERYBODY?!
Rishi’s Ancient Tree Golden Yunnan is a great one-bud two-leaf tea, although it’s not necessarily a lot like prototypical Yunnan teas. (I actually like it better.) And then you have to try an all-bud Yunnan, like Rishi’s Golden Needles or Itoen’s Yunnan Golden Tips. It’s like dessert.
Oh, yeah, and regarding “entertainingly.” I think it was Stephen King who said, “the road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
@East Side Rob Clearly these are words to live by.