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Finally introduced this to the SO. She said it was like drinking nori. Green tea is still not her thing, so more for me!

The dry leaves smell salty and umami, sort of like light kombu.
I did two quick rinses of this tea.
There is a super-light roasted scent to the wet leaves with that saltiness in the background. The wet leaves are a dark green, and produce a fairly light-colored, light-scented liquor.
For me, each steep has a light-roasted taste. Slight bitterness. Thick and smooth coating left in the mouth.
I have read that dancong can be difficult to steep well, so I think I will need some more practice!

I didn’t really get to properly sit down and enjoy this insisted on somewhat debating with me about something while I was trying to prepare everything and clean up other stuff around me at the same time. I got a few steeps in, but wasn’t able to focus on any of them, so all I can say at the moment is that it’s both vegetal and milky and I’m going to have to give this another go. I enjoyed it as best I could!

I jumped at the chance to leave work a bit early so quickly that I forgot to save my note for this. ::sighs:: I remember the experience, so I’ll just recall it as best I can.

The dry leaves have a mineral-y smell. Kind of like salt mixed with rocks. The moment the hot water hits them, I can smell how roasted these leaves are. The aroma of the medium dark liquor has a slight hint of sweetness that the leaves lack on their own, but it tastes just as roasted as the leaves smell. When I swallow, I get a sensation in my throat as if I’ve just swallowed something salty or otherwise mineral-y. The tea itself doesn’t taste salty, of course, and I don’t really get a mineral taste in my mouth, so I find it interesting how it manifests. I find the experience of this tea to be fairly stable through subsequent steeps—roasty, smooth, interesting mineral-y notes. I’m going to have to give myself some time to get more familiar with it and experience it over more steeps.

Dry green curls emit a toasty scent and unfurl quickly once wet to reveal their leafy form. Oh yes, my senses are going to enjoy this one.

The first steep smells sweet and creamy, a really fantastic aroma. Very light liquor, light, milky flavor—there is more strength in the aroma than the flavor for this steep—smooth mouthfeel, a sweet aroma clings to empty cup and I’m left with a creamy sensation in the mouth.

The second steep is also creamy, sweet and aromatic. I’m not getting much vegetal taste or any sourness, but that could just be my tastebuds.

In the third steep I’m starting to get those vegetal notes, and I think the sourness is just barely there. The sourness starts to come out more in the following steeps, which I had to wait a couple hours to get to. So interesting how the taste has evolved, and it still has that creamy mouthfeel that lingers after I’m done.

Drinking this in the morning was a fantastic idea. I feel like it’s got just the right flavor profile to enjoy mid-morning (it’s not even 9 a.m. and it’s mid-morning…help). I definitely see myself buying more of this, the more I steep, the more I realize how much of an interesting take on genmaicha it is!

Enjoying this one for more steeps than I did last time. That flavor that comes out in the first steep definitely wanes, but as the tea leaves shine through more and more with each steep, the mouthfeel remains creamy and the mango aroma continues to lend a nice aftertaste.