(Tea Provided For Review)
Origin: Mt. Jiri, Hadong County,
Gyeongnam Province, Korea
Harvest: Around April 17, 2016
Dry Leaves: The
leaves are quite small and have a fairly dark blueish-green color with bits of
gray towards the twisted tips. The dry leave was quite pretty, but it had quite
a weak aroma.
First Steeping
Temperature: 180oF
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Bell Pepper
Flavor: Cold Zucchini, Cold Soybeans
and Brown Rice
Tasting Notes: I’ll admit I was
immediately worried about how high the recommended brewing temperature was (and
I am sad to admit that I did use the remainder of my sample to brew at a lower
temperature and understand why Teas Unique recommends brewing at such a high temperature),
but I did and it seems that most of the teas that I have sampled from Teas
Unique can take quite a beating.
The flavor was quite interesting;
initially I had quite a bit of trouble describing what I tasted when my notes
were entirely my feelings. I kept thinking of a hot lazy summer day and light
vegetal notes. I ended up describing this tea as having a cold zucchini and
cold soybean taste, but there was something crisp about it (think crisp apple),
it feels like it would be perfect with a light vinegar drizzle.
Second Steeping
Temperature: 180oF
Brewing Time: One Minute and Thirty
Seconds
Aroma: Bell Pepper
Flavor: Soybeans and Brown Rice
Tasting Notes: The bell pepper nose
is still weak, but it is developing. While this tea still has quite a crisp
taste to it, the initial zucchini taste is entirely gone.
Third Steeping
Temperature: 185oF
Brewing Time: Two Minutes
Aroma: Vegetal
Flavor: Brown Rice and Vegetal
Tasting Notes: The bell pepper nose
has become either so light that I can no longer distinguish it or it has become
murky, I am not sure which one I finally decided on. As for the taste, the
vegetal notes from the previous steeping are still present, but no longer as
developed. Although the brown rice notes that have been present since the beginning
is still there, but has developed into quite an interesting thing, it sort of
reminds me as a cross between a lightly roasted savory senbei and a sesame Jonbyong
roll.
I am a little disappointed with this
tea, I feel that I did this tea big disservice by not brewing this tea as long
as Teas Unqiue recommended and using the remainder of my sample to brew at a
much lower time and shorter steep, but I suppose that is what happens when one
let’s follow one’s experiences before those of others. Regardless I rather
liked this tea, it isn’t the punchiest of teas, but it is one of those teas
that is a perfect complement to so many things.
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