Hm. This is a perfectly nice tea, with absolutely nothing ‘wrong’ with it. It’s not bitter at all (except for that ‘not actually bitter’ spice and grapefruit bitterness), it has a perfectly nice and pretty complex taste (some sweetness, some ‘bitterness’, some slight citrus-iness), but I just have other teas that fall into the same tea category (for me, at least) and that I like better.
Specifically, The des deux chinois (Dammann again), which I’m becoming increasingly fond of. Also Everglad (again Dammann), which is a lovely grapefruit tea without much else in the way. Then there’s Mousson sur Hanoi (and again Dammann – sensing a theme here), which has no ingredients in common, but does have a similar kind of green tea + non-bitter bitterness thing going for it, and is utterly lovely and unique. So, sorry Riads, I think I’ve found teas I just like better than you. But I’ll happily sip you down.
By the way, I’m sure that there must be a better word for the non-bitter bitterness that I keep mentioning. I have no clue what it is, though.
I think I like the second infusion of these leaves better than the first. The flavors seem more pronounced, I can really taste the different citrus notes now. Very nice.