OK, so maybe I am just too much of a tea snob, just too critical, but here I am, so I guess I will keep going…
By and large I have not found the JK teas up to snuff, my experience has been better with Whispering Pines, Verdant, and especially Yunnan Sourcing.
Nose; lightly roasted nori, seashore.
Palate; not much there, slightly sweet, oatmeal, brown sugar.
Drinking tea is fairly new, but have had good wines for many years, so that is my perspective…
I generally brew in small ( under 200 cc and often under 100 cc ) pots either Japanese Tokoname or Chinese Yixing. I vary my steeping times a lot before I decide on tasting notes — I take a sort of experimental approach, gong fu one time, western short steeping another, vary the water temp, etc. to see what the tea will offer. Also, I will take notes on different days since what one brings to a cup one day will not be the same the next. I rate teas somewhat the same way as I rate wines, with over 90 being excellent, and over 95 being truly remarkable — even once in a lifetime. Over 85 very good, over 80 good.
USA
