Where is our teas' aroma?
Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:41 am
I have been drinking 3 teas everyday. I will write about aroma for the 3 that I have been drinking for the teas that I have been drinking lately. I hope it leads to some discussion of aroma.
Shanlinxi: The dry leaves almost no scent at all. I don't notice any when I pour hot water on those leaves as they sit in my teapot. When I am emptying the pot into a teacup or server once the pot is about half empty aroma is wonderful. The wet leaves smell sweet & like cooked green vegetables. The aroma is almost entirely on these leaves. I taste the sweetness more than I smelled it while (because of my quick steeping) I taste the greenness less than I smell it. The brew itself has no aroma. I can imagine my breath has sweet, fresh aroma (but I don't know) because of great aftertaste.
Father Love (aged roasted oolong): When I first open a packet, I sometimes smell the roast and/or notes of green oolong or dried fruit. Sometimes I open packs & smell nothing. After the leaves sit in a caddy for a few days, when I lift the lid I smell chocolate. When hot water covers the leaves I smell the roast & hints of tart fruit & sometimes other fruits (not anyway chocolate). The brew is a better & stronger version of the aroma as tasted flavors.
Alishan Black: The dry leaves in the caddy have a pleasant unique aroma. This aroma (perhaps a blend of the flavors that can no longer be picked out) is not what one smells or tastes. The aroma of the wet leaves is of flavors I associate with well-oxidized red oolong. The brew smells slightly different in a cup than in the teapot. The taste if prepared perfectly is of these flavors alone & in good balance with a touch of black tea sweetness & strength. If too many leaves are used or too much steeping time, the brew will taste bitter; wet leaves that had smelled delicious to me will seem to smell burnt. (Of course that is a reaction to being offput by a ruined session.)
Shanlinxi: The dry leaves almost no scent at all. I don't notice any when I pour hot water on those leaves as they sit in my teapot. When I am emptying the pot into a teacup or server once the pot is about half empty aroma is wonderful. The wet leaves smell sweet & like cooked green vegetables. The aroma is almost entirely on these leaves. I taste the sweetness more than I smelled it while (because of my quick steeping) I taste the greenness less than I smell it. The brew itself has no aroma. I can imagine my breath has sweet, fresh aroma (but I don't know) because of great aftertaste.
Father Love (aged roasted oolong): When I first open a packet, I sometimes smell the roast and/or notes of green oolong or dried fruit. Sometimes I open packs & smell nothing. After the leaves sit in a caddy for a few days, when I lift the lid I smell chocolate. When hot water covers the leaves I smell the roast & hints of tart fruit & sometimes other fruits (not anyway chocolate). The brew is a better & stronger version of the aroma as tasted flavors.
Alishan Black: The dry leaves in the caddy have a pleasant unique aroma. This aroma (perhaps a blend of the flavors that can no longer be picked out) is not what one smells or tastes. The aroma of the wet leaves is of flavors I associate with well-oxidized red oolong. The brew smells slightly different in a cup than in the teapot. The taste if prepared perfectly is of these flavors alone & in good balance with a touch of black tea sweetness & strength. If too many leaves are used or too much steeping time, the brew will taste bitter; wet leaves that had smelled delicious to me will seem to smell burnt. (Of course that is a reaction to being offput by a ruined session.)