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1610 tasting notes

Finally got around to this tea that Togo sent between 5 and 6 years ago. Thank you!

Strong feeling tea but it’s not very dense in taste expression. Dry leaf has a foresty vibe with fruity scents like melon, citrus and goji. Warmed leaf is very sweet and rich with caramel-honey sweetness and floral fig-raisin compote. At this time, the aromas of the leaf do not come through into the taste. The rinsed leaf smells rather pungent with notes of grilled white fish meat, a big herbaceous tone, cooked green beans and green bell peppers, white grapes (reminds me of young Hekai sheng) and wood. Peach gets stuck in the nose!

The tea is full-bodied and slips down the throat leaving behind a pleasant tart aftertaste, however it also deposits a mouth-coating and very dry astringency that has me focusing all of my attention on my tongue. It feels like a separate entity. I’m very aware that the tongue is a muscle. Strange. Taste is diffuse within a strong structure. I get mostly a bitter-herbaceous-honey-hay-mineral profile.

I feel like this leaf could add some depth to a blend but on its own, it’s not too great.

Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Dry, Drying, Hay, Herbaceous, Honey, Meat, Mineral, Tart

Preparation

Boiling 7 g 4 OZ / 110 ML

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This place, like the rest of the internet, is dead and overrun with bots. Yet I persist.

Eventual tea farmer. If you are a tea grower, want to grow your own plants or are simply curious, please follow me so we can chat.

I most enjoy loose-leaf, unflavored teas and tisanes. Teabags have their place. Some of my favorite teas have a profound effect on mind and body rather than having a specific flavor profile.

Favorite teas generally come from China (all provinces), Taiwan, India (Nilgiri and Manipur). Frequently enjoyed though less sipped are teas from Georgia, Japan, and Nepal. While I’m not actively on the hunt, a goal of mine is to try tea from every country that makes it available to the North American market. This is to gain a vague understanding of how Camellia sinensis performs in different climates. I realize that borders are arbitrary and some countries are huge with many climates and tea-growing regions.

I’m convinced European countries make the best herbal teas.

Personal Rating Scale:

100-90: A tea I can lose myself into. Something about it makes me slow down and appreciate not only the tea but all of life or a moment in time. If it’s a bagged or herbal tea, it’s of standout quality in comparison to similar items.

89-80: Fits my profile well enough to buy again.

79-70: Not a preferred tea. I might buy more or try a different harvest. Would gladly have a cup if offered.

69-60: Not necessarily a bad tea but one that I won’t buy again. Would have a cup if offered.

59-1: Lacking several elements, strangely clunky, possesses off flavor/aroma/texture or something about it makes me not want to finish.

Unrated: Haven’t made up my mind or some other reason. If it’s puerh, I likely think it needs more age.

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