right when I opened this vacuum sealed package, I took a sniff and the dry leaf is just like those mint chocolates they give you at some asian restaurants with your cheque, like a warmer mint chocolate chip ice cream. I gave it a sniff in my bamboo scoop too and it smelled like banana/mango with some mint. 22 year old Thai oolong from a farm that doesnt even exist anymore? What could be better
Brewing at 100C, in my thick walled glazed 100ml easy gaiwan – 100% full of wet leaf,
In the warm gaiwan is one of the most complex smells. It’s like a whole flurry of spices I cant even begin to get into, and all of the mint chocolate and tropical fruit from the dry leaf over like a nice bed of soil.
After the rinse, the leaves still smell of all of the above, with lemongrass and soapiness added. Above all, there are smells of root vegetables, earth and spices.
With my low profile glazed cup,
The soup is very thick and sweet, a bit of tingle on the tongue, with almond butter, earth, and wood in the taste and lovely dark, rich stonefruits in the aroma. There’s something very pastry-like resembling pie or danishes, the soup is a vibrant lemon-yellow
In a mid-profile porcelain cup, I get a more soapy and tingly texture, predominantly apricot in the aroma, less thickness on the tongue, earth in the taste, with the same pastryness.
(I love comparing cups – low profile wins)
As the tea develops and i go back to the low profile cup, I get Brown sugar, the aromatics move towards cherry/mango, licorice, the pastry moves towards more of a boring bagel than a nice danish.
Anyway, my stomach is feeling a bit unsettled and gross. I don’t think it’s from the tea, but who knows. I feel like I just ate a huge bar of dark chocolate
