Winter 2016 version.
Vernal equinox at hand, and feeling vaguely renewed after attending a wonderful Nowruz family luncheon, I thought this tea might serve me well as a way of demarcating the seasonal shift.
Filtered Santa Monica municipal water, to glass cha hai, to my Taiwanese purple clay tea-pot (mostly used for heavy roast oolong), back to the glass cha hai, into my porcelain cup.
Rinse: Once the leaves are wet the aromatics come to life dramatically: butterscotch, chestnut, fresh bush/wax beans, freshly cleaned wood, etc.
45sec: Greenish lemon chiffon liquor; aromatic but weaker than the wet leaves held under the nose; very delicate nectar-like sweetness emerges from the depths of the finish. Wild grasses, with hints of melon as well.
60sec: More of the same. Fresh cream flavors accentuate the mouth-feel, and suggest hints of butterscotch as well. Lots of floral notes in here, though they largely remain secondary to the gentle sweetness up front and rounding things out.
90sec: Pushing the leaf a bit, liquor darkens slightly to a canary yellow; a hint of spice perhaps (coriander? stale dried mint?) develops, finishes slightly more herbal – otherwise consistent with the initial steeps.
4 – 5 more steeps from 90 seconds up to 3 minutes before the sweetness fades and the floral complexity is diminished/muddled.
Overall – light, floral, creamy, and moderately energizing. Looking forward to trying the roasted version from the same vendor…
