Wu San Di Shui Xian, TXS tea
7.7g (sachet said 8.3g, so guess my scale is off or something, I’m not sure. Have been less mindful of 1:15 general ratio lately because when I do follow it I’m never sure when to use the remaining 2g or whatever of leaf), 100 mL gaiwan, Brita, 212f
dry leaves don’t have much smell
leaves in prewarmed gaiwan have a roasted and bread-like smell
wet leaves have a strong smoke w sweet undertones of dark chocolate and berry
5s: slightly thick. woody medicinal notes w/ slight sweetness that remind me of cinnamon. slight cooling minty aftertaste
another 5s: similar to initial, but a touch stronger mint aftertaste
12s: slight bitter and roast more upfront before moving to a minty aftertaste
25s: starting to lose steam. a touch of sweetness + toastiness w mint aftertaste and a touch of something like soap
1min: lighter but finishes w a bright mint note and something higher that I can’t distinguish
2min: light medicinal woody notes + roast hint
5min: seems to have regained strength. bitterness like a coffee that turns into a soapy note of sorts.
10 min: roasted bitter note and soapy aftertaste. hint of mint
20 min + one last steep of indefinite hours length: not much left to note. would usually cold brew, but the last time I tried that with a TXS tea it tasted like straight soap.
overall, nothing too exciting, fairly standard shui xian profile. I guess this validates the legitimacy of the shui xian that was a gift that I tried before and thought was fake because of the lack of sweetness and rather medicinal/woody profile. Descriptions online of whatever is supposed to constitute a “classic” shui xian messed up my expectations
Flavors: Berry, Bread, Cinnamon, Dark Chocolate, Medicinal, Mint, Roasted, Soap, Toasty, Wood
