I found this tea to be one of the best black teas I have tasted.
Nose; beautiful florals, rose, gardenia, light tulse, parsnip, orchid, very light ozone, like a forest after a rain. delightful.
Palate; similar to nose with the addition of rambutan and plumeria, and a sparkling character.
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
This is actually an oolong. And probably one of Cindy’s best. I am thinking about purchasing another bag….