One thing I found surprising was how much the flavor of this tea varies depending on the preperation method. The first two cups I prepared according the the suggested brewing instructions using water that was 180°F and steeping the leaves for 1 minute. If you take a sip just as the tea has finished steeping it tastes very strongly of steamed vegetables, but as the tea cools towards room temperature a variety of other flavors start to make themselves known. There is still a hint of vegetal flavor, but a sweet vanilla bean flavor starts to take over. Every once-in-awhile I get a hint of something else. I’m not sure that I would call it star anise as they do in the description. That has more of a licorice-like flavor, this is more of a spicy bite that is more akin to black pepper. It makes for a very interesting contrast with the sweet vanilla flavor.
You can read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2014/5/13/tuesday-tea-lotus-the-persimmon-tree-tea-company.html
I would like to thank Nghia from The Persimmon Tree Tea Company for sending me this tea for review.
