Purchased in the TeaGschwendner store in Regensburg, Germany. The company describes this tea as intense and reminiscent of Japanese green teas, and I agree on both counts.

The dry leaf is aromatic but in a sort of edgy way that I'm not sure if I like. It's fresh and suggests a cooling quality, but is a bit harsh, although it also has a pleasant toasty quality.

Brewed as recommended, brews up a very strong cup. Light in color, but with a very bold flavor, fairly bitter too. I found the cup pleasantly refreshing. Aroma is toasty and strongly grassy, almost seems to hint at smoke without having a smoky aroma. Like many South Korean teas, this one seemed to have some of the vegetal qualities of high-quality Japanese teas, while being more like a Chinese pan-fired tea in other ways.

This tea was tricky to brew. I recommend using less leaf than TeaGschwendner recommends, because of this tea's potency. Using less leaf, I find, brings out the toasty qualities in the aroma, while minimizing the bitterness and astringency, leading to a much more enjoyable cup for me. I also found brewing temperature important, and I went even lower than the recommended temp of around 180F/80C.

I found this tea disappointing when it came to resteeping, and I tried a lot. Even with the first cup as short as 1 minute, and the second cup steeped for a very long time, the second cup is bland. The flavor seems to extract very quickly...perhaps someone skilled in gong fu brewing could get multiple steeps out of this one, but for me it was a 1-cup deal.

The price? Decent in Germany. But as with TeaGschwendner's prices across the board, in the US the prices are nearly twice the prices in Germany, and I would never buy this tea at US prices, as I think it's hugely overpriced.

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