After having such a wonderful experiment with Verdants Eight Treasures Yabao I decided to redo this one gaiwan style. Now when I first tried this I got a decent amount of saltiness to it and a bit of a metallic aftertaste. Redoing this gaiwan style has made this tea so much better, and for that I am upping the rating.
First I barely detected any saltiness to it and no weird metallic aftertaste..woo! Instead what I got was a nice plum-like fruit notes in the first few steepings, fading as the steepings continued. There was also no astringency at all this time.
About the second infusion I started to get more vegetal notes, reminding me of Dragonwell without the butteriness like so many others. Towards the fourth steeping though, when the fruity notes were barely detectable, a light creaminess did appear, more in the texture than in the taste and it wasn’t buttery.
I think with having such luck in brewing teas gaiwan style and tasting the difference from western style that for now on I shall brew gaiwan syle when I get the chance. It brings out a much better quality in the tea; I am more able to taste the different nuances in a very good way.
