First tea I’m reviewing from the TTB – Round 3. 5 grams in my shibo, gave them a quick rinse and let sit for about 5 minutes before starting my first brew. This tea has definitely seen some humidity and would benefit from some airing out for sure. Early tastes were dusty books and basement with underling fruit, camphor and some vanilla. Overall really complex and enjoyable flavors and my favorite aspect of this tea. In general the body was light and the after taste wasn’t that strong. Some throatiness early in the session but it didn’t develop or last for more than a couple steeps. As the session progressed the storage tastes lightened but never went away completely, astringency on the tongue and cheeks on the later steeps until the very end. Had to push this tea fairly early which is usually a sign of trouble but it turned out to be fairly durable and got around 15 steeps.
Overall the tea was pretty enjoyable but nothing mind blowing. Some people may be turned off by the storage taste but it doest bother me. As I said earlier airing this out would do it wonders as the flavors were the highlight of the show here. Also I do like teas with thicker bodies and oily texture but I’ve come to not expect that all the time from older tea.
If there’s one thing I love in a tea it’s dusty books and basement. Well, two things.
Sounds like the beginning of the Spanish inquisition skit from Monty Python, second time that’s come up recently now