Well, this tea has been pretty much covered so I’ll add a little personification for fun.
Old Bear reminds me of a good friend I have who likens himself to a cross between a black bear and a gorilla with dark hair the color of this leaf and some red in his beard like the color of the brew. He happens to like roughing it a lot and is no stranger to a good smokey campfire and a swig of peaty scotch. Even the toughest jabs seem to glance off of him. He comes across as bold, brash, bitter and gruff with a hard to penetrate exterior but once he opens up, he’s very sweet and even-tempered. I wouldn’t call him dry, even though this tea can be at times. A solid, thick, no-nonsense beast who always delivers.
I’ll have to take this little brick with me next time we meet up in the wilderness and see what he thinks of this tea.
5g, 100mL, 212F, 20s rinse, 8 steeps at 4×20s/30/35/45/45 then lost count after that. Oh yeah, high and sustained amount of caffeine and a nice softening of the gaze. I was gifted an animal hair in my first chip off the brick. It was tan and white, coarse and wiry. Maybe pig? Who knows.
Flavors: Bitter, Campfire, Cedar, Dates, Drying, Peat, Smooth, Sweet, Tar, Wet Wood
