Another one of the samples I got from derk, this is exactly what I was craving today.
I haven’t tried the unroasted version, so I don’t have a point of comparison, but to me it seems like a very careful roast. It is not overpowering at all. The tea has full body and beautiful floral fragrance. I found it to be very refreshing in the mouth, cooling in the throat and body warming. The mouthfeel is bubbly, thick and soft.
The taste has a decent balance, but verges on the umami side. It has vegetal qualities of bamboo shoots, savouriness not unlike egg yolk and slightly sour, yoghurt-like, finish. Of course, there are also notes from the roast, but I dind’t find any of them to stand out too much. I feel like the roast created a very nice robust base, but at the same time preserved a lot of the character of the tea. The aftertaste is one of the most interesting I have experienced – I get an aroma of lavender (and eggs), throat-feeling of menthol and taste of sage. It is also super long and over time evolves into more sweet domain.
Flavors: Bamboo, Bread, Butter, Herbs, Lavender, Menthol, Mint, Roasted, Sage, Sweet, Warm Grass, Umami, Vegetal, Yogurt
