First Post, Ancient Tree

Intro: This is a random amateur commenting on teas. I'm not a tea gourmet, I just want to pretend sometimes. In general I will speak about teas other people have brewed for me (this is a tea tasting blog, not a how-to), but if I don't get out for awhile I'll do some of my home stash.

Location: Samovar Tea Lounge, San Francisco
Tea: Ancient Tree
Date of tasting: June 27, 2007

Notes:
As my idea for this blog was formulated at the end of the visit, two important experiences will be missing from this post: initial sip, and initial aroma. Tea just ain't aromatic over an hour into the "experience". I also ate a Mancha-infused brownie with the tea... in the future I'll try to avoid pairing with food so I can rate the tea alone. (But the brownie: rich, dark, and luscious. Mmmm.)

(Please bear with my tea vocabulary. I use the words that make sense to me. And I enjoy making it sound wine-like and snooty. I hope to improve over time!)

This green tea began with a strong flavor spike that lingered on the tongue. The spikiness of the flavor was fun, surprising the palate with odd bursts of intensity. The traditional green tea taste had very few sweet overtones but was richer than other green teas I've had. I imagine fans of sweet teas would not be thrilled, but those who like a more coffee-like strength and complexity might enjoy it. The flavor, while strong, was neither dark nor light.

On cooling the flavor continued to be strong, and the tea stood up well against the lukewarm conditions of sitting in the teahouse for an hour. I could imagine it as a very tasty iced tea.