Gongfu brewed in a 170ml teapot at 205F. I cracked the ball in half to help with opening faster, since I’m brewing at a slightly lower ratio
Rinse: transparent white
1st steep (~12s): transparent yellow, not too pale. Aroma is about what you expect especially if you’ve smelled the tea ball – smoked pine, with a bit of sweetness in the back. Taste: campfire and tobacco ash. Has a slight burn sensation in the back of the throat. I actually quite like smoked teas, but even this first steep is pushing my limit – not bad, but the smoke note is fairly bitter with the ash flavor.
2nd steep (22s, lowered temp to 195F): color has deepened to a golden yellow/ocher. Scent is less smoky than before but definitely still plenty of smoke. Much more bitterness/astringency in this steep, though not enough to ruin it entirely. Just has a very strong bite with the smoke notes and lingering subtle sweetness. Tastes kind of like what I imagine it would be like if I put out a burning stick of palo santo on my tongue.
3rd steep (16s): Slightly paler ocher with a hint of green. Lower brew time was a good idea, it backed off the astringentness. Much more enjoyable, but the ash note is still a challenging flavor.
4th steep (20s, temp back to 205): Pale ochre. Smoke and ash as stepped down one notch, to my pleasure.
5th steep (25s): Same color. Scent has smoke stepped back, giving way to the smell of an lakeside pine cabin. Bite in the flavor has returned, ash is more forward than smoke, but both have stepped down considerably, giving way to indiscernable vegetal notes
6th steep (30s): Slightly paler. Dare I say this tea is finally actively enjoyable. Ash is mostly gone leaving way for smoke with a background of sheng notes, which is more of what I was looking for in a smoked tea.
7th steep (40s): Same color. I think the tea is petering out a bit – same notes, a little bit of bite and astringency from the added time I think.
8-10th steep (longer brews): did the last few steeps over a few hours for maybe 1-3 minutes each – similar notes to the last few steeps – softened flavor profile that makes it a bit more enjoyable than the first half.
Overall: This is an oppressively smoked tea. I love smokiness, but the ash note is so strong for the first 4-5 steeps that its like drinking an ash tray with notes of smoked pine, with little else appreciable. The back end of steeps has the smoke calm down and is actually enjoyable, but I think there are other teas out there that start here, rather than you having to crawl through an ashen warzone to get there.
Flavors: Ash, Campfire, Incense, Smoke, Tobacco
