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We ordered a sample of this from Upton Tea and I used the full 6 grams in the gaiwan, which ends up being difficult to fill to cover them with water. The buds are beautiful. White with pastel green streaks, and they have a scent that makes them seem like they’ll brew up quite grassy.

The liquor is a very clear, light yellow, and it is, interesting, both light and thick. It’s got a spiced, slightly floral flavor, and of course, the overall flavor is quite light in this steep. It’s quite palate-cleansing.

The second steep comes through also very light in color, but a bit stronger in flavor. Definitely still getting that spiced sweetness, with some very light hints of lemon. The SO compares it to a yellow fruit loop, which I can’t disagree with.

The flavor remains pretty consistent for a good few steeps. All in all, a good experience!

Couldn’t make a tea decision this morning, so I pulled out a baggie of this that I had stored at work. Leaves still have that nice, spiced scent. I didn’t really plan to write a tasting note for this, but upon tasting it I didn’t have a choice.

The first steep is way sweeter than I remember this being the past times I drank it, and I’m getting a sweet scent that lingers in the cup afterward. The second infusion is like a medley of sweet spices. Thick and smooth, just as I recall. I’m finding this experience with this blend to be /much/ more like what YS describes on their site than the first time I tried this. I am enjoying it much more than I did the first time, as well.

The third infusion is so sweet and spiced that I’m actually a bit shocked. Finished this up with a couple more steeps, the last one long. All-in-all, much happier with this session than the first!

Liquor came out more yellow than I’ve ever seen it this morning, but still getting a good flavor. Second steep came out more green. I know these leaves don’t keep super long and I’ve only got a few sessions worth left, so I should probably sipdown the rest of this soon.

More than half the day has gone by, I survived a potluck, head’s killing me and I haven’t had any actual tea. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to try today, but ended up choosing to give this a shot. Cake itself smells mushroomy and is easy enough to break into. I throw 5 grams into the gaiwan, give it a quick rinse and a fairly quick first steep.

The leaves have a spiced, sweetish scent, and the liquor brews up a fairly deep red. I’m taste mushroom and camphor from the very first scent. Super smooth, and I get a sweetish finish as it goes down. I get some hints of cocoa out of the second steep. I got completely sucked into some work and totally forgot about and oversteeped the third go around. But the tea still came out well, not too surprisingly. Still smooth, and a very distinct cacao flavor came through. I did one more steep which confirmed my worry that I probably pulled most of the flavor out during the oversteep, but I enjoyed this one, so I’ll have it again soon.

Had a baggie of this stashed in my desk drawer for a while. Figured now is as good a time as any to drink it!

The buds were originally nice and unbroken, but they got a bit broken up thanks to my careless transporting. Steeps out to a nice, very light gold with a spiced hay-like, somewhat grassy aroma. Super smooth texture, light herbal, grassy taste. A very faint hint of steamed veggies at the end that lingers as an aftertaste.

Second steep came out a deeper gold and much more spiced. It almost reminds me of some tisanes I used to drink. I also feel like I am almost getting some lemony notes out of this one.

Seems like I could get some more out of this one if I had time for another steep, but I’ve still got the rest of the tin to experiment with.

Spring 2016 harvest.

Dry and wet leaves have nice, vegetal fragrance with a hint of roast. Nice, golden liquor. Wasn’t able to enjoy from the start as I would have liked as I got pushed into some tasks immediately as I finished steeping. Liquor is nice, thick and smooth. Lightly floral.

Creamy aroma in the second steep. Flavor hasn’t changed too much, and by the third steep the flavor is already super faint. It gets a hint of bitterness if I leave it to sit and cool awhile before drinking. I do one last steep that I let go a bit long, actually, a bit longer than I had intended. It’s an interesting blend of cream with some bitterness.

I’ll be giving this one another try when I can!

So I wanted something to go into this training session I was assigned to lead at the last minute, and this was the only thing I had time to prepare. I had forgotten I had these in my drawer, to be honest!

I realized today that I probably made this with way too much water the first time I prepared it, as I’m pretty sure I used a full 10 oz when I made it in the past. I remember it having no flavor. I also had to use Keurig water, which was too cool. This time I followed the instructions and used only enough water to fill up about 1/3 of my mug at 100C and it turned out decent enough. With all the other great tea I have to drink up, this will probably just continue to sit in my drawer for whenever I can’t prepare anything else, but it’s perfectly good enough for that!