The following teas were in suit with eastteaguy since he picks out great teas and has a frickin’ similar palette. I have more to write about, especially the other Old Ways Tea blacks (which are awesome), I am one of What-Cha’s drugees and had to sample this one out.
I’ve gotten more into Nepalese lately because of Alistairs suggestions, and I actually like them more than some of the Darjeelings I’ve had, so I was curious to try this one. The dry leaf was immensely dry, like opening my nostrils up to pollen floating on hay and almonds.
I had it at work, so I soaked it in one of my own sachets in a grandpa-esque style using between 2 and 3 grams. It started out buttery and vaguely floral like honeysuckle, then the butter was followed along by a very thick almond note. The texture was viscous, and the longer it steeped, the notes became drier and more floral. It transitioned into that dry bee pollen note amidst the butter honeysuckle and became slightly bitter and a woody green. Dandelion is spot on because it is sweet, but so, so dry….never mind the texture is smooth and as tongue coating as ever. The mild astringency reminded me more of a white tea or a first flush black than an oolong, but I expected that with the terroir.
I’ll have to experiment more with this one to get better parameters. I think this one might be suited to gong fu or very short western with more leaves. It worked in my lazy grandpa, but I need get to know it better before I judge it. I can at least recommend it to people who know the terroir and are a little bit more snobby based on the price tag. I’m not too sure about new drinkers. The notes were pretty akin to a semi sweet to medium dry white wine, so that’s the best match I could make.
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I don’t normally do Indian or Nepalese teas gongfu, but this one was quite doable gongfu. It faded pretty quickly on me when I brewed it that way, but it was still excellent. It also worked quite well Western. On a different topic, I’m loving Old Ways Tea too. They have become one of my go-to vendors for Wuyi teas. Their teaware and accessories are cool too. I recently bought a couple pairs of scissors, a couple gaiwans, and some cup sets from them and all work well.
I don’t normally do Indian or Nepalese teas gongfu, but this one was quite doable gongfu. It faded pretty quickly on me when I brewed it that way, but it was still excellent. It also worked quite well Western. On a different topic, I’m loving Old Ways Tea too. They have become one of my go-to vendors for Wuyi teas. Their teaware and accessories are cool too. I recently bought a couple pairs of scissors, a couple gaiwans, and some cup sets from them and all work well.