New Tasting Notes

I wouldn’t call this a chai. I taste the anise most strongly. I also taste clove. When it was hot, I tasted almost nothing at all. I thought a longer steep would do better, but the second time was the same.

Sharedown

A young student has just fallen in love with tea and loves Paris, so I gifted her my tin of Decaf Paris so she can enjoy it in the evening as well. It is still within date and has enough for a number of pots of tea for the kids to enjoy together.

I will eventually repurchase when my stock of decaf teas gets low, but that isn’t a danger right now. Ha ha!

A sipdown! (M: 6 Y: 22) — yet another puerh sipdown.

You know, I have lots of these last quantities left teas. So, I just picked any other randomly, and while I don’t think I need to slay any demons in me now ;knock knock on the wood, panic attacks are much less present.

I did super-fast rinse with toss, and let humudity absorb a bit into the leaf.

Steeps were various lenghts, starting with short ones and just did increments of 10-15 seconds each steep.

It is surprisingly very mild and sweet, while I have been expecting other side of the spectrum (bitter and astringent); hints of floral notes and hot hay,… argh! I burned my fingers!… later steeps have that vegetal/pepper qualites that were described when young. Aroma is mostly grassy, with hints of petrichor.

If anything, this tea, comparing my previous note (and notes of others), has mellowed by a lot! Liquor was in all steeps definitely very thick and somehow a bit oily and with long mouthfeels.

Based on today impressions I raise the rating from 78 to 85.

A sipdown! (M: 5 Y: 21)
As I am enjoying a work-free week; I decided to make a dent in my tea stash. Yesterday I have rechecked all the tea, reorganised my tea chests, and found out I have more puerh than I have thought and more herbals than I am able to finish in timely manner. So, that included also removing all the tea from Steepster cupboard and re-adding them afterwards.

So, that said; I have also time to sipdown some last servings (I have much more than I want to admit) and some gongfu steeps that I hardly find time for.

I brought last 4 grams from sample that derk sent me, who knows when, but thank you anyway. I did no rinse, not even preheated gaiwan.

1st steep — 15 seconds
Very interesting aroma of leaves as well as the liquor, like forest floor combined with licorice root; but on the other hand, more important for me, taste-wise it is just flat and not flavourful at all. There is some sweetness in the background; but almost unnoticeable.

2nd steep — 25 seconds
Now there are also some refreshing, like menthol, aroma in the nose. The sweetness is still prominent, but also bitterness creeps around the corner. Or maybe it is not a bitterness, but citrus rinds and alkali. Dry aftertaste, which is rather unpleasant.

3rd steep — 30 seconds
Oh dear. This is pure alkali combined with dirty and muddy forest floor.
Bad steep, bad steep!

4th steep — again 30 seconds
Bitter citrus rinds. Not a fan.

5th steep — 50 seconds
No notes made, probably similar to previous one, but not so strong.

6th steep — 60 seconds
Bitter something with thick mouthfeel, lasts long and this tea is finished for me by now.