Thank you so much, cookies! this is not what I would pick for myself as a lover of the lighter side of oolong, but I am happy to have received it!
This tea is so glossy and deep, dark purple. The miniscule rolled leaves are lovely to look at and sniff at. They look like little round eggplants. They kinda smell like roasted eggplant as well. Breaded and broiled in an oven.
The liquor is unmistakably from the purple varietal. It’s a grey-gold thin liquor. I detected some fishy aromas from the cup, but I couldn’t place it in my sip. Ah, but the usual dry, burning prairie grass is there once again.
Next two steeps I used hotter water. From 95C to 100C. I’m getting scalded milk and a deeper roasted flavor. Coffee note abound!! The fishiness intensifies ever so slightly. I am getting faint notes of dark chocolate and caramel. I’m talking 86% dark chocolate. And caramel that is almost burned on the stove. This tea is merciless. It dares me to like it, or to spit it out. I can’t say that I like it, and I am on my 6th steep, and I have finished each sip.
Still. I am glad to have tried it, even though it was definitely not for me.
Flavors: Coffee, Fishy, Hot Hay, Roasted Nuts
