Before steeping this tea it seems to have a sweet earthy smell. Visually, it is made up of tight clusters of leaves and contains no stems upon brief inspection. I am drinking the last of my ‘monkey picked’ and have plenty of experience steeping this particular tea now that I am finishing up the last of this .25 lb bag. I personally prefer steepings between 1 and 2 minutes for this tea.
The tightly packed leaf clusters slightly unfurl after the first steep. The smell is sweet with floral grass like undertones. The colour is a pale yellow. The taste is excellent and lingers after sipping to the point that I can still smell it as I breath through my nose. This tea’s flavour is extremely deep, the initial sip will produce one flavour while the aftertaste produces another. This took some time for me to note as the favour is so well composed that it blends into itself. The texture seems creamy simply because of how the flavour changes so smoothly from that initial sip to swallow to wonderful aftertaste.
Since I enjoy this tea so much it was excellent to experiment with. Varying temperate, steeping vessels and length of steep has allowed me to get the most out of this amazing leaf. As I re-steep the flavour intensifies and opens up more to the point where I am getting maximum enjoyment from the third steep. If you like Oolongs and have a taste for them I would strongly recommend investing in this tea. It allows for forgiving steeps that never disappoint and a quality of leaf that is hard to find…
