This afternoon when I got home from my gig, I wanted shu. Plain & simple.
I have a sample of this from Garret, actually I have 2 samples, so it was time to give it a try. I used a Tbl of nuggets, in an 12 oz mug. I gave it a rinse, then a 3 minute steep, with a 5 minutes resteep.
Initially, it was kind of musty, but it had an earthy grounding element, a deep flavor, and a rich & almost buttery kind of mouth.
That’s all I have for now. :)
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Hi Terri!! Interesting that you got the “musty” note… This tea was quite moderate in fermentation which can smell more like old leatherbound books sometimes. Perhaps that is what you were picking up on.
As far as tea nugget – in China I learned that 3 rinses with full rolling boil is essential. The nuggets (and this one especially) are very tightly compressed under the heat, humidity, pressure that occurs in the pile fermentation. I typically steep this one after the rinses for a 1 to 2 minutes at a pop, unless I am looking for something a bit bolder, then I steep longer and do fewer steeps.
This one never reaches the “in your face” level without using lots of leaf and super boiling water. It is a more mellow ripe tea experience. I had alot of bricks of this pressed and am about to put them on a blowout sale because we need to move some inventory to make room for all the other teas coming this way!!
Thanks for writing this up!
Grateful,
Garret
Thanks Garret!
Just for the record, I don’t want you to think I didn’t enjoy it! When I think of ‘musty’, in my mind that is old dry books in a library, kind of ancient feeling. Very different from, let’s say, a moldy or mushroomy smell, for instance. ‘Earthy’, for me, brings up imaged of well aged compost, being layered onto the beds in my garden in the spring, with all the fresh aroma of fertile earth. ‘Grounding’ usually implies an earthy bassnote. These are all good things, for me, as a gardener, to describe. I have enough to sample it again, & will probably try your suggestions the next time. :) Enjoy the day! Thanks always for the tea, the trivia, & the happiness! :)
Hi Terri!! Interesting that you got the “musty” note… This tea was quite moderate in fermentation which can smell more like old leatherbound books sometimes. Perhaps that is what you were picking up on.
As far as tea nugget – in China I learned that 3 rinses with full rolling boil is essential. The nuggets (and this one especially) are very tightly compressed under the heat, humidity, pressure that occurs in the pile fermentation. I typically steep this one after the rinses for a 1 to 2 minutes at a pop, unless I am looking for something a bit bolder, then I steep longer and do fewer steeps.
This one never reaches the “in your face” level without using lots of leaf and super boiling water. It is a more mellow ripe tea experience. I had alot of bricks of this pressed and am about to put them on a blowout sale because we need to move some inventory to make room for all the other teas coming this way!!
Thanks for writing this up!
Grateful,
Garret
Thanks Garret!
Just for the record, I don’t want you to think I didn’t enjoy it! When I think of ‘musty’, in my mind that is old dry books in a library, kind of ancient feeling. Very different from, let’s say, a moldy or mushroomy smell, for instance. ‘Earthy’, for me, brings up imaged of well aged compost, being layered onto the beds in my garden in the spring, with all the fresh aroma of fertile earth. ‘Grounding’ usually implies an earthy bassnote. These are all good things, for me, as a gardener, to describe. I have enough to sample it again, & will probably try your suggestions the next time. :) Enjoy the day! Thanks always for the tea, the trivia, & the happiness! :)