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I was super excited to order some teas from Georgia, where I lived and consider one of my homes. rhinkle wanted this one yesterday but I’d overheated the water, so I made it to have ready right as she arrived today.

I feel like this tea waits to assert what it has to offer. No aroma hits me in the face, the liquor is a rather unassuming, albeit deep, reddish amber. The first steep is smooth and offers a blend of tobacco, bread and malty flavors with just a hint of citrus and a subtle sweetness. The aroma left behind in my mug smells faintly of sweet citrus.

::sighs:: I swear, I should not be allowed to do western style because I always forget about the tea. My resteep went for a very, very long time, but the leaves withstood it. The citrus comes through clearer in this steep, and just a bit of bitterness at the very end, probably thanks to me oversteeping.

The leaves have expanded nicely after a couple of steeps, and they’re very intact. All-in-all, while this is different from my most preferred teas, I find it to be of good quality and it is actually quite enjoyable. My body was even able to tolerate it after having matcha this morning, so I feel nice and even right now. And, of course, I’m very happy to have tea from Georgia. Tea that is better than any tea I ever actually had in Georgia, funny enough.

Went to bed waaaaay too late last night and I was drowsier driving this morning than I remember in a while. I don’t usually drink matcha two days in a row, but I knew it would be necessary this morning.

The more back in practice I get with preparing it, the more I am able to appreciate this matcha. I can get a pretty substantial layer of froth on top and the right amount of water cuts the intensity of any bitterness while maintaining a fresh, rich flavor. Definitely a good value!

The more I experience Chinese black teas, the more I’m learning to appreciate black teas in general.

Steeped this one in a gravity steeper with boiling water for about 3 minutes. The result was a nice, red liquor with a deep, bready, chocolatey aroma. Each sip has a smooth texture with the taste of cocoa and bready notes, and a creamy, malty aftertaste lingers for quite a while.

I forgot about the tea during the resteep and let it go for a good 10 minutes, but I still got very nice flavor out of it without any unpleasant flavors. Definitely enjoyed this hong, seemingly more than rhinkle, funny enough!

Just needed to drink something I knew I would like this afternoon.

I’m a fan of smoky teas, so I wanted to give this one a try. Steeps out a deep amber color with a strong, smoky, Jasmine scent, both of which come through in the flavor, as well.

The Jasmine is too strong for me, as florals in general can really mess me up. I’m getting some acrid notes, as well, which I’m not sure should be attributed to the smoke or to the five minute steep. At 90C, however, I didn’t think that would be too hot.

Trying to finish this one feels like it could bring a migraine on, so I have to set it aside for the time being. Perhaps a quicker steep or letting the flavor fade a bit would help make it easier for me to drink.

I think when we ordered this we expected more subtle blend. This is too strong for us. The scent is very strong and the flavor is definitely fruity and sweet. The scent in the empty cup afterward is also very sweet. The taste of the tea itself doesn’t really come through as much as we’d like. We’ll probably give this one another shot with hotter water, but it’s probably ultimately not going to be for us.