90

Encouraged by Kittenna’s success last night I decided to re-read other’s tasting notes for successful brewing techniques and watched the brewing video on Verdant’s website. I went with an amalgamation, glass infuser mug with a mesh brew basket (mainly because the glass slits are slow to drain and I wanted to be quick), all the leaf I had left (I need to get a scale and but it looked about right, maybe a tad less than what is used in the video), water at 200 for the rinse and 195 for the first infusion and steeped for 3 secs.

The result? Success! I have mastered this tea and it is really quite lovely! Not sure why my cold brew was so unsuccessful but I’m getting no astringency in these first two infusions. Just lovely woodsy, heady incense, with nice mineral notes. Second infusion has a bit of honey and melon. It may be a bit lighter than how other’s enjoy, but it’s perfect for my palate. I shall take my time with this today as it is all I have left, but yay for getting it right! Rating moving up right between Fujian Rain and Mi Lan Black, which I find very appropriate as it actually reminds me a bit of the Fujian and other tea’s I sampled that day.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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Bio

Druid, artist, poet, mum, lover of tea, ritual and myth. I grew up on Celestial Seasons herbals but fell in love with straight loose leaf tea working at my local Teavana for a year. I am grateful for the introduction and the experience, but have moved on.

I see tea as an experience for the senses, I like to imagine tasting the land and the weather as well as the effect of sun, air, fire and the human hand. I have a soft spot for shu pu’er, yabao, scented oolongs, wuyi oolongs, taiwanese tea as well as smooth naturally sweet blacks, creamy greens and surprisingly complex whites.

I began ordering lots of samples from Upton to educate myself on different varieties of tea we didn’t have at work and have fallen head over heels for the unique offerings from Verdant Tea. I am learning things I like: buttery mouthfeel, surprising sweet or spice notes, woodiness, mineral notes, depth and complexity and things I don’t: astringency, dry and sour notes.

I collect tea tins and am in danger of collecting pots, though I am trying to restrain the urge due to current lack of space. I brew mostly in a glass infuser mug or a tea maker, only using cast-iron for company now (still need to get a gaiwan) and tend not to sweeten my teas unless they are British or fruity and iced, which is not often.

As far as ratings, I lack a definite system and haven’t been assigning numbers lately, wanting to spend multiple sessions with a tea first. I usually only log a tea once, unless it is a new harvest or I have significantly different observations, but will go back and edit or comment if I find something interesting or new.

Location

Baker Street, Berea, Ohio

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