The tea last night western and to-night gong fu was extremely bready and buttery.
Western: 5 grams in Kyusu, 2 min, 3 min, and oversteeping, but still very good. Gong fu, still brewing as I write, 10, 25.
More sourdough in profile, butter, peony, honeysuckle, a little bit of qin xin pineapple, but immense florals and herbaceous qualities. I know I’ve used rosemary before, but it has the kind of aftertaste rosemary gets when it’s infused into bread or butter. The smell is incredible and vegetal. Makes me think of the butter dishes you get from Red Lobster.
The best session so far was the first because it had all the qualities I listed above and was significantly fruitier. Now, it’s more vegetal and bready, having a little bit of umami.
Third steep of maybe 25-ish seconds, and more heavy in florals. Kind of almond milkish, leaning into some lilac and white floral profiles. A little bit flower bitter, not overly so.
So far in later steepings gong fu, I don’t always notice a significant difference. The savory, floral, and green vegetal qualities shift around a bit, usually leaning into more vegetal with an occasional floral fruity surprise like in session one. Right now, it’s leaning more vegetal and floral.
I’m really not sure what to rate it because it’s almost a 90 for me. The tea is forgiving, but requires finesse and careful attention to get particular tastes. Even if I mess up though, I always get heavy mouthfeel. Floating Leaves Teas usually require more refinement and precision anyway.
Clearly, I like it. It’s #3 in ranking so far, though I’d say it’s a summer tea or a seafood matching tea for sure because the higher heat doesn’t detract from the tea at all.
Flavors: Bread, Butter, Corn Husk, Floral, Herbs, Honeysuckle, Lilac, Peony, Pineapple, Savory, Umami, Vegetal
