I finally got to taste this tea, which was sent to me by Lori! Thank you, Lori! It took this long for me to get it to my friend in New Zealand so we could have a virtual tea tasting on Skype and then to arrange a time we could do this.
The funny thing is that I am in the States getting this in a swap from someone and I mailed a portion to someone who is two hours away from the plantation where it is grown! They have just opened a tea room there called the Camellia House.
The dry leaves smell really good. The wet leaves smell REALLY smokey! The tea is very smooth, not bitter or astringent at all, nutty, nice planty and not nasty planty. First steep was two minutes and I was generous with the leaves. WOW! They really open up!
The second steep was dark DARK yellow and full bodied, and there was a creaminess I hadn’t noticed in the first steep. I only added an extra 30 seconds.
