Many thanks to Ubacat for sending me a sample of this!

The instructions on the packet said to put 8g of dried leaf in my gaiwan – which is quite a bit! I measured out how much was in the sample Uba sent me and it was 9.8g, so I didn’t see the point of using 8g and having less than 2g left over and just lingering.

So instead I just split my whole sample in half and did 1 gaiwan’s worth with 4.9g instead. Much more reasonable.

It turned out to be a smart call anyway, since the leaf expanded by a LOT. The first steep was mild, but the second and third steeps were intense: a rich, clear yellow with notes of jasmine, and other flowers. Oddly enough, I also got a sort of “sharp” note underneath that reminded me of mint.

However, I’m not a huge fan of the base. It had that “curly” flavour that I find occurs in lightly-roasted oolongs that I dislike. (“Curly” is the best way I can describe it – it’s a sensation on my tongue that reminds me of the sharpness of uncooked cabbage or kale.)

The later steeps were also mild, but I think that can be attributed to the water cooling down over time. I still have 1 good serving size of this left.

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Bio

Updated March 2016:

I’m a writer and editor who’s fallen in love with loose-leaf tea. I’ve also set up a site for tea reviews at http://www.booksandtea.ca – an excellent excuse to keep on buying and trying new blends. There will always be more to discover!

In the meantime, since joining Steepster in January 2014, I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on my likes and dislikes

Likes: Raw/Sheng pu’erh, sobacha, fruit flavours, masala chais, jasmine, mint, citrus, ginger, Ceylons, Chinese blacks, rooibos.

Dislikes (or at least generally disinclined towards): Hibiscus, rosehip, chamomile, licorice, lavender, really vegetal green teas, shu/ripe pu’erh.

Things I generally decide on a case-by-case basis: Oolong, white teas.

Still need to do my research on: matcha

I rarely score teas anymore, but if I do, here’s the system I follow:

100-85: A winner!
84-70: Pretty good. This is a nice, everyday kind of tea.
69-60: Decent, but not up to snuff.
59-50: Not great. Better treated as an experiment.
49-0: I didn’t like this, and I’m going to avoid it in the future. Blech.

Location

Toronto, ON, Canada

Website

http://www.booksandtea.ca

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