Just a quickie as I'm home early from work sick and really should be resting. I received a brick of this as a gift from Bryan at Teajournaling and instantly fell in love with it. First impressions were how sweet the dry leaf smelled. Full of delicious aroma, oily in my hands; everything you never expect from such a young brick. It was thick, soupy, delicious leafy sweet goodness. Nice big full leaves scream out careful hand-processing.
The first night I drank this, I deviated a bit from my normal infusion times. Normally I flash rinse, 15s, 12s, 25s, 35s, 50s, 1:00, 1:15, 1:30, etc...this time, I started short....7s, 12s, 15s, 30s. I rode 30 seconds for another five or six infusions and then went up to 45 seconds. Before, I knew it, it was 3:02am and I was still wide awake. This is a tea that has no idea when to quit and for less than $10 a brick, could easily be a daily drinker. Normally if I drink that late at night, I'll leave some water in the gaiwan and drink the overnight brew first thing in the morning as an eye opener. Never bitter, even then.
That buttery yellow soup you're looking at is after the 15th infusion. Beautiful liquor, beautiful tea. Hands down Hai Lang knows how to make a good tea. Pick some of this up.
6 comments:
Oh my that looks good. I wish I read this review a couple hours ago before I placed an order with Scott. Well, I guess it just has to go on the shopping list for next time. :-)
Thanks for the review ... great pix.
Salsero,
Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad this piqued your interest. Have you even had a chance to sample this yet? If you're interested (since it will likely be a few weeks before you get that shipment from Scott) I would be more than happy to send you a sample. Just shoot me an email if you want me to send you some. Hopefully I'll see you back here again!
jamus!
Jamus,
Just discovered your blog today and thought I'd say hello after noticing we use the same fair cup and tea cups. Any tea lover with an L icon is okay in my book!
-Dissonance
Dissonance,
Glad you found this blog and hello to you as well! Hopefully you'll share some of your thoughts on these teas as well. You're one of the few to catch the L avatar. Good eye!
jamus~
Hey Jamus,
I received a brick of this tea and I agree with your review: sweet leafy goodness *yum*. Nice big leaves too. Very much a winner in that price range.
Have a good tea,
Alex
Alex,
Good to hear from you my friend! Sorry that I missed your message earlier, as I was just finishing up Grace's bath and putting her down for the night. So glad you finally had a chance to taste this. I recently bought a brick of Jing Mai as a gift for a friend out of state. I've not met a single person who hasn't enjoyed it. You're right, at that price range, it's an absolute steal! Anyhow, I'll catch up with you soon. We need to set up another trade soon!
Best wishes,
Jamus~
Post a Comment