Phew! Finished a crazy work day! Time to relax! I tried the rest of my little sample of this tea gong fu style, since brewing it western style was an epic fail. This was the first time I’ve tried gong fu style, so keep that in mind! I steeped the leaves in 6 oz. for each infusion.
10-second steep: it tastes really burnt and woody.
20-second steep: the same, except it’s a little sweeter, and a bit fruity.
30-second steep: I identified the fruitiness as citrus.
45-second steep: woody citrus.
1-minute steep: more citrus, less woody, and more smooth.
1 1/2-minute steep: same as previous infusion with a little spice in the aftertaste.
I’m bummed that I didn’t taste the same notes as everyone else. Where’s the caramel and hazelnut? Made me think that they gave me the wrong tea, or my palate is too unrefined. :( Overall, this tea didn’t meet my expectations, and since it also isn’t good western style, it won’t be on my shopping list.
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Shoot, Were there a ton of leaves in the cup? For my gawain, which holds barely 4oz empty, I put in how much leaf I would need for between 12-16oz western style.
Ya, there was a lot of leaf. I figured their samples are about 2 large cups worth, and this was what I had left over from my previous try. It was at least half of the sample. Do you think I overdid it?
Oh no, If anything I worry about underleafing in the gaiwan. But I’m also pretty new to it. That’s too bad. I haven’t had that one so I have idea what it’s supposed to be like. On the bright side, not liking it saves you some money!
That’s true! Haha!
Next time, watching the videos is helpful.I learned from them myself. Also, the tasting notes are great…but I don’t always taste whats mentioned either.
I ended up buying a scale, since I had no clue what 5 Grams of tea looked like.
Shoot, Were there a ton of leaves in the cup? For my gawain, which holds barely 4oz empty, I put in how much leaf I would need for between 12-16oz western style.
Ya, there was a lot of leaf. I figured their samples are about 2 large cups worth, and this was what I had left over from my previous try. It was at least half of the sample. Do you think I overdid it?
Oh no, If anything I worry about underleafing in the gaiwan. But I’m also pretty new to it. That’s too bad. I haven’t had that one so I have idea what it’s supposed to be like. On the bright side, not liking it saves you some money!
That’s true! Haha!
Next time, watching the videos is helpful.I learned from them myself. Also, the tasting notes are great…but I don’t always taste whats mentioned either.
I ended up buying a scale, since I had no clue what 5 Grams of tea looked like.