This is a queued tasting note.
Sipdown (151)!
I wish I had taken jot notes during this Gong Fu session but we were also playing a big family game of Monopoly so multi tasking by playing and steeping was enough of a challenge without throwing in note taking. I lost the monopoly game, badly, by the way.
I think I got around ten infusions from the last of this leaf – wasn’t counting but I know it was a pretty lengthy session (by my standards) so it would have been roughly around there. Overall, I liked this one Gong Fu quite a bit. I don’t know that this prep style totally fits in with the way this tea has been marketed and that overall aesthetic feel. I mean, a tea inspired by Ventura Highway seems to be quite distanced from more traditional Chinese brewing methods. But the flavours worked and that’s the most important part, in my opinion.
Overall flavour notes throughout the session were sweet lemon curd/pie filling, sweet grassy notes, vegetal snap peas, crisp fresh air, and floral notes of orchid and lily. The lemon was the strongest note apart from the overall grassy/vegetal base note combo that was lightly present in each infusion. The lemon was stronger and more vibrant but didn’t have the same overall, stretched out presence those notes did because the lemon was a top note that faded into other notes. I think that sort of crisp, clean air sort of note contributed to a very clean, well rounded flavour profile overall and it strongly reminded me of both Spring time air with fresh grass, dew and blooming flowers but also pure ‘mountain’ type air. REALLY refreshing on the whole. Floral notes emerged later into the session, and more so in the finish than anywhere else. They were a nice touch.
I think this is something I could very well be tempted to order again if I were placing an August Uncommon order anyway and it was still available – but also I don’t know that it’s something I’d seek out were I not ordering already anyway. Still – very happy with each experience I had with this one.
Congrats!