I glad to have finally tried this one in the gaiwan, since I think I didn’t properly appreciate it steeped western style. This is a really interesting and delicious tea! The flavour is really complex, but I got a lot of honey-roasted sweet potato, with some cinnamon in the aroma. The texture is very thick and creamy. I don’t think this is one that I’ll crave super-regularly, but I’m definitely glad to have it, and it seems like more of a special-occasion tea anyway. :)
Addendum: I took this through, oh, at least 8 steepings last night and decided to save the leaves and try to get a bit more out of them today. I was a bit skeptical today, when there wasn’t much aroma coming up out of the gaiwan and it was taking quite a while for the water to take on some colour. But I’ve done a few long-ish steeps and been pleasantly surprised! This still has flavour, and though it’s lighter than before, it’s also bringing out some floral, nectar-like notes that are a bit new. It’s still remarkably sweet in the latter part of the sip and the aftertaste, and it still has that mouth-coating quality. Wow.
