I chose this for one of my free samples. The wet leaves are dark green, the liquor is bright amber with a slight leather, earthy aroma. The 1st steep, I got fresh hay, leather, maybe some seaweed, sweet tupelo honey, spices, wood and sugarcane with a very slight bitterness. The 2nd and 3rd steep had a much stronger bitterness but was quickly followed by sweetness so I agree with the ‘bitterness of first sip, quick sweet after-taste’ in the description. It actually fits this tea perfectly. The 2nd and 3rd steep was more viscous compared to all the other steeps, almost syrupy. Bold flavors. Sharp… Definitely not shy, mild, timid as say their Moonlight Pu-erh. The most bitter steep was the 3rd but again, a welcomed strong sweet sugarcane wash aftertaste made the bitterness ‘interesting’… Almost like grapefruit bitter, meaning that the bitter part is what makes the fruit tastes so unique, good. The following steeps the bitterness wasn’t nearly as pronounced or maybe at this point, I was used to it. The liquor at this point smelled like one of those honey-citrus coughdrops for itchy throats with camphor, menthol. When I breathed in and out, there was a cooling sensation. In between infusions, I could breathe really well out of my usual allergy ridden stuffed nose. Stone fruit, fresh hay, seaweed, marine, wood, sugarcane, honey, earth, smoke, floral, grapefruit and a bunch of other things I couldn’t decipher. Definitely a complex tea. If you don’t mind bitterness, you may enjoy this tea.
Flavors: Camphor, Floral, Freshly Cut Grass, Grapefruit, Hay, Honey, Menthol, Smoke, Stonefruits, Sugarcane, Wood
