Infusions
- First impression is that this tastes very adult-like. It's got a pretty potent but pleasant astringency as well. There's a bit of a chalky feeling in the mouth on the teeth. Strong on the rye whiskey barrel wood notes, slightly souring wood as the liquid cools a bit. Tons of complexity that make it feel like you're looking into an old-growth forest with tons of brush, tryna spot somethin small, brown, n furry. The mouthfeel on the finish is a bit bubbly and slightly cooling.
It tastes like a clean, quiet, and calm workshop of old heavy tools - perhaps even a speakeasy. Definitely more towards the Old Fashioned front if you were to compare this to a cocktail. Flavors are malty and smooth with a bit of chocolate milk. - A bit sweeter and brighter in flavors, definitely bolder with a semblance of a cacao nibs note. There's a substantial nutty malt tied to a woodiness and spiciness with a touch of cream, stone, and florals. Kind of an all-arounder save for vegetal; any vegetal notes are more in the earthy realm, like raw potatoes. I'm picking up a bit of loam, but it's not anything like that big wet-stored soil note (which tend to make me, personally, feel a little nauseous) - this is more chocolatey, deep, and full. Lots of bass in this tea. Also freeze-dried corn notes.
- Malted milk balls, deep wood, astringency. Feels like a class act all around. Super clean tasting and lively with rounded out minerality poking through here and there. It's a fun time and has a nice predominance of that malted milk ball flavor above the woodsiness.
- More noticeable raw potato, heightened sweetness, still carrying that malty complexity.
- Smoother with less astringency. Hard to pick stuff out to describe it, but this infusion has some nice honeyed dianhong-type notes to it augmented onto the potato earthiness. That potato taste is more refined and clearer than before. The taste is similar to red beets as well.
- Stored grain flavors are taking the stage now. Tastes like smooth malt or sticking your face into freshly toasted grains.
- Steeped longer, it's a ton earthier than before. Doesn't get bitter which is cool, but gets some clay-like flavors coming out.
- Floral grains and nuts. That creamy, interwoven, dry-aged sheng flavor. Cashew milk, lemon zest.
- ...
- ...
- Now it's starting to switch up with a lot more umami. Kombu and wakame flavors are coming out which is really unexpected. When the umami subsides, a taste of melted chocolate (like on a s'mores) comes up.
- Candied lemon and seaweed