I drank this tea while having a wonderful and long overdue online hangout with some teafriends. For the most part, it is as advertised on W2T’s website.
The first steep threw me off for just a bit, as it was sort of light and floral, with a bit of hay in the flavor as well. I have to chalk that up to the tea not being fully opened up. On the next steep, I may have oversteeped it just a touch because of the lightness on the first steep. That burly character started to show up a little bit. This tea was thick and a bit sticky feeling in the mouth. The flavor remained slightly floral, but not a light and happy floral. There was indeed a slight bit of smokiness to the tea, but far from enough to make it unpleasant.
I liked this tea quite a bit. It was not particularly complex, but it was tasty. Thick and intense, especially if brewed with a heavy hand. In its youth, it could definitely be made unpleasantly astringent by oversteeping. In my session, there was a bit of astringency which sort of reared its head and generally built up a little bit as the session progressed, but I didn’t find it offensive at any point.
When I make my next W2T order to pick up some 2017 samples, I could certainly see myself tossing a cake of this tea in my cart. It would make a nice daily drinker. If it was in the exact same price bracket as Little Walk and Milk, Cream & Alcohol, that would be a foregone conclusion. At the slightly higher price it commands, this will remain a gametime decision.
Flavors: Floral, Hay, Smoke, Sweet, Thick
