45

(5g ball in 120ml gaiwan, 205 F, 10 second first infusion, 10 total steeps)
This was an odd brewing session. I have no experience with white teas, so I have no idea how these “dragon pearls” compare to any other form/variety of Silver Needle.

The dry leaf was very fragrant; wildflower or dandelion-type floral, lightly fruity like melon or white peach. Wet leaf added an aroma of cooked fruit – a little earthy/toasty. Oddly, the liquor itself had no aroma on the first steep. Very pale yellow first infusion (10 sec), lots of fine, downy hairs floating throughout. The taste is light & delicate, but there’s some honey sweetness and a sense of sweet cucumber or honeydew melon. As it cools I can pick up some hay/straw, a little corn. Tickle in back of throat – from the tea hairs, I assume. Second steep (15 sec) is similar but more intense. This brew has straw aroma as well as flavor (smells like a hayride), and the throat tickle is even more present, giving the feeling that I am literally drinking dry straw. Steep three (20 sec) leaves a sweeter aroma on the gaiwan lid, and the tea liquor has a stronger aroma of earthy fruit and dandelion floral. Steep four (25 sec) adds an aroma of pine, and there is a lightly sweet cooling aftertaste, but the fruit and floral sweetness is receding. Fifth & sixth steeps (35, 45 sec) continue the dry grass taste with stronger pine/resin flavor and cooling aftertaste. Any fruit and floral are pretty much gone. Steeps 7-10 (1 min, 75 sec, 2 min, 3 min) are just like drinking hay with a pine resin cooling aftertaste – steady flavors but no additional layers, and not enjoyable once the fruit and wildflower notes are gone.

Perhaps more flavors would have been revealed if I kept pushing, as the taste was still quite strong at 10th steep. But the experience became unpleasant, so I had no interest in going any further. The throat tickle (irritation is probably too strong a description) stayed throughout, and eventually I started to feel like I was somehow drinking a light allergic reaction to hay grasses.

I only really enjoyed the first three infusions, and it was pretty much downhill after that.

Preparation
5 g 4 OZ / 120 ML

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Learning to brew gongfu style in my first gaiwan made me aware that not only is there an amazing array of teas out there to try, but each tea has the potential to have a great variety of flavors revealed by different preparations. Whenever possible, I like to brew each tea I try a few ways: gongfu, western, cold brewed/iced. I’ve enjoyed seeing how these treatments change any given tea.

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