Sipdown #50
The dry leaf aroma is mostly berries. Catching a whiff of the brewed tea aroma, I was immediately hit by jasmine. But this isn’t a jasmine tea. Odd. I kept sniffing and slowly the aroma transformed into something floral and gritty, tugging at the edge of my memory. Honeysuckle? I think the floral aroma is honeysuckle.
First sip…the immediate taste is rose and rock sugar…then it ebbs into that grittiness from the aroma. I’m guessing that’s the cedar note. Then slowly it transforms again into a lovely floral aftertaste very reminiscent of honeysuckle. The goji berry melds with the floral notes so that I can’t quite separate its distinct flavor.
I should add that what I describe as “gritty” is really my way of trying to describe a flavor, not a texture, that I haven’t come across before and therefore lack the vocabulary to portray properly. This tea is very smooth.
Overall, I’m very impressed with this tea! It has a nice progression of flavors that I haven’t encountered often. I believe that’s a characteristic of the pu’er coming through. I don’t have too much experience with pu’er, but it’s the only tea variety I have tried that morphs in your mouth like this.
It’s a naturally sweet blend and much more yummy and drinkable than I had anticipated. Too bad this one is all gone now too. Alas, my Verdant tea blend samples are all drunk. But there’s still the straight ones to sample!
I love this tea! Hoarding the rest of my 1 oz bag in case it doesn’t get re blended again this year.