I like holidays. It may sound like an obvious thing, but I used to be depressed on holidays, not going to school, not seeing all the good people there. However, now, the exams make me more and more tired so I enjoy a bit of relax (relax = code & study what I want instead of what I have to :) ). What surprised me is, that when I am not that tired, the urge to blog about tea is smaller. Those who think that if I write less often for some time, the writing will be better, will be disappointed I am afraid. Alas, that is how it is.
Today, I'll write about another tea from Tea urchin - his Gao Shan Zhai.
The leaves are, as you might see, huge and long. They release a familiar fruity-Yiwu, i.e., Gaoshanzhai aroma.
The rinsed leaves smell really great, like blueberries and blackberries, very thick and sweet. However, it is not always easy to convert great aroma to a great taste.
The taste does not start that interesting, but becomes good in few brews. It is pleasantly fruity and fresh, with a bit of mushrooms (not that I would enjoy that in general, but it is allright here) and sugarcane. At the beginning of the session, I thought the tea's bitterness and astringency to be pleasant, but it got more and more unpleasant with forthcoming brews, it brought en primeur bordeaux back to my mind - potentially great, but not great to consume immediately. This tea is one of the more pleasant "too young to drink now" teas, on the other hand, one may get tea of similar character, but already good, for less money (this tea may get better than these in few years though, it has enough strength).
The aftertaste is fresh, juicy and pleasant. The mouthfeel is clear, but not really as intense as I would enjoy/expect in such a tea. Again, let's hope it gets better with age.
It is certainly a nice tea and probably a reasonably priced one, given its age and the lust for Yiwu (and I simply do not believe that Eugene would enjoy robbing people). But still, $70 is a lot of money, especially for an autumnal cake. On the other hand, I must admit I would not guess this was an autumn tea, it does not have the dullness of many of these, it is strong and energetic.
Further reading: Half-Dipper
"I thought the tea's bitterness and astringency to be pleasant, but it got more and more unpleasant with forthcoming brews, it brought en primeur bordeaux back to my mind - potentially great, but not great to consume immediately. This tea is one of the more pleasant "too young to drink now"
OdpovědětVymazatI wonder if this lackluster experience and increasing bitterness has anything to do with you brewing it in completely loose form? I've found often that the young teas do best in one single big chunk. Kind of gives it some extra time to acclimate to hot water to prevent shocking the leaves.
happy drinking,
teaisme
Hello teaisme,
OdpovědětVymazatI am not sure that the issue lies in loose form - I tasted another chunk and it was generally the same. If I steep loose leaves, I just keep them a bit shorter in the pot. If I brewed the tea the same way, it is likely it would be more bitter, I agreee.
Jakub