Brewed in my porcelain Jingdezhen gaiwan. Los Angeles municipal water is just off the boil throughout.
The tea sample seems somewhat brittle so I don’t make any real attempt to chip away at the nearly 10 gram chunk for fear of it disintegrating.
A brief rest follows a 15 second wash.
1st – 10th steeps (15 seconds): Coffee brown to chocolate colored liquid; earthy and vaguely spicy aroma; hints of cocoa and oats on the palate; medium-dry finish – smooth, clean, with hints of loam.
Here followed a nearly 24 hour rest…
11th – 12th steeps (20 seconds): Identical to the first 10…
…and after another 24 hour rest…
13th – 18th steeps (20 seconds, then increasing by 10 seconds/steep): slightly lighter in color and flavor than the previous cups, but only just.
…and finally on day 4 of this session:
19th – 21st steeps (2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes): milder, slightly nutty, possibly a little sweeter.
A very unassuming tea, but remarkably consistent – like the other shous I’ve sampled thus far, it enhances and is enhanced by a meal (in tonight’s case, “fish fragrant” eggplant and chrysanthemum greens with ginger and oyster sauce served with good quality Japanese brown rice).
