Joshua Smith select Send Message

It’s been a very, very long time since I posted a review, mostly due to work and partially since my previous gaiwan didn’t survive my move. Now that I finally got a replacement, I can finally post a review about the samples that I recently got from Tea Ave.

The dry leaves remind me a lot of a Darjeeling, very colorful and with a delicate flora aroma that I’ve come to expect from high-mountain teas. I filled my gaiwan about half way, and steeped for 15 seconds with 190-180 degree water, then pour it directly into some of my small cups. The first steep resulted in a very nice medium colored tea, that was very aromatic. Much like the dry leaves, it smells very floral, but there’s also a fresh herbacious aroma like a fresh green Tie Guan Yin. The flavor of the tea is similar to a really top quality Tie Guan Yin, but it feels like it’s thicker. The mouthfeel is a very nice buttery sensation that lingers for a long time in the mouth. As the tea cools down, it starts to taste a bit like a White Peony and loses some of the complexity.

For the second steep, I used slightly cooler water for about seven seconds. The tea actually tastes a lot more complex now, with hints of leaves and spice present in the palate now. The spice isn’t like the saffron that you taste in a really high quality Tie Guan Yin, and is a bit less subtle yest still hard to describe. It still retains its butter mouthfeel, but it’s a bit reduced. The aftertaste also is more complex, with lingering hay, leaves, and spices that fades over about 2 minutes. The development is rather amazing, and I can’t wait to see how it continues to develop.

For the third steep, I let it sit for 10 seconds. The end result is that I got a surprisingly thick feeling tea that was actually sweeter than both of the previous infusions. The aroma is also stronger, and it has developed a honey flavor, and generally continues to grow stronger and sweeter. Unfortunately, something came up and the tea got cold, wo there’s nothing else to say about this.

Later steeps started to lose flavor and intensity, and generally started to taste like a Bai Mu Dan. A very good Bai Mu Dan, but still much less interesting than the original flavor. Still, it’s a very god tea for contemplative sipping. If you want something that will just give you a nice relaxing afternoon, this is a good tea to try out.