These dry leaves are the tiniest one has ever seen in a yellow tea. That doesn't come as a surprise as the tea is produced from the first spring growth.
The smell of the dark brown dry leaves could as well be the smell of Christmas baking from grandmas house. The smell is wonderful milky chocolate and roasted nut, the most savored of oxidized tea smells in Korea. It's a real festive treat for the nose as it taunts the tastebuds. This tea couldn't smell any better. With tea smelling this good, its hard to believe that its taste could live up to its smell.
Just like Santa on Christmas eve, this tea doesn't disappoint. The brew is very smooth and coats the mouth in creamy milk chocolate and nutty tones with a subtle undertone of spice. The mouthfeel mirrors taste and is creamy, rich, and smooth. The first few infusions leave a festive spiciness on the breath. Later infusions seem to leave more chocolate than spice.
As the session progresses the liquor develops a noticeable, but not at all distracting, citric sourness that is mostly cloaked by prevalent chocolate and nutty tones. Its mouthfeel develops a slight fuzzy feeling, emulating the warm fuzzy feeling you get when drinking this delightful tea, or when spending time with loved ones on Christmas morning.
This tea has a lightness and vibrancy to it that only such young leaves could possibly emit. Its energy is a beautiful balance between fresh, young exuberance that is typical of Korean green ujeon teas and grounding, settling, stability that is found in most Korean oxidized teas.
In the end you can't help but walk away from this one smiling.
Merry Christmas to everyone.
Wishing you lots of holiday cheer.
Peace
*** Housekeeping note- Please halt all generous tea shipments. One will be leaving Korea in a few weeks and embarking on a journey around the world. One will not have a permanent address for, at the very least, a few months as one travels in search of experience, knowledge, and probably more tea. Also those who were expecting some Christmas goodies may have to wait a few months. Right now one doesn't know where one will settle back down. Most likely it will be someplace other than Korea.
Double Peace
Taken from http://mattchasblog.blogspot.com/
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