Grand Yunnan Impérial, China
97-deg, 5 minutes
As the water was added, the aroma was immediately sweet, reminiscent of clover honey. At three minutes, the smell of black tea began to overtake the sweetness. Color was certainly of the amber variety but you would describe it as red sunset if this was the hue of the sky. The nose was a bit grassy after the five-minute steeping. The flavor character is very mild compared to a typical black breakfast tea. From the color, I was expecting flavors similar to a Golden Monkey variety, but I found the tea flavors much more subtle in the Grand Yunnan Impérial. I found that as the tea cooled, I enjoyed the flavor more and more.
