Far from a Shamrock Shake, but I think there is kind of a minty element that seems to be the main thing going on here. Some woodiness, but the flavor profile is very distinctly different from the other Xiaguan “Gold Ribbon” tuo cha that I recently tried – In particular, I am not getting any spice notes. The mouthfeel is noticeably kind of “creamy,” which is interesting. Not a bad tea! It is cool that you can pick these up for fairly low prices.
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I’m not sure if the tea has changed on me already, or if I am just getting better at tasting it, but starting to notice a lot more in the way of savory/meaty elements to it, also in the aroma. Funny, there wasn’t much scent at first to the intact tuocha. I picked it apart and threw it in a mason jar after buying, and now I notice the aroma more whenever I open up the jar. Sort of like a tea equivalent of lamb with mint sauce to me now.
Ha ha – I figured out the last time I brewed this I forgot to do a 30-second rinse. I did a 30-second rinse today, and the savory meaty elements of the flavor largely went away. It reminds me of the stories I heard about farmers using the same wok to cook their bacon as they do to fry the teas. Maybe something like that was going on here?
I’m not sure if the tea has changed on me already, or if I am just getting better at tasting it, but starting to notice a lot more in the way of savory/meaty elements to it, also in the aroma. Funny, there wasn’t much scent at first to the intact tuocha. I picked it apart and threw it in a mason jar after buying, and now I notice the aroma more whenever I open up the jar. Sort of like a tea equivalent of lamb with mint sauce to me now.
Ha ha – I figured out the last time I brewed this I forgot to do a 30-second rinse. I did a 30-second rinse today, and the savory meaty elements of the flavor largely went away. It reminds me of the stories I heard about farmers using the same wok to cook their bacon as they do to fry the teas. Maybe something like that was going on here?