A Tea Addict's Journal

… you should finish it quickly.

I opened up a canister of Wuyi yancha today, some stuff I bought early on last year when I first arrived in Beijing. I know I don’t have much of it left, and figured it’s time to drink it up.

It’s quite broken — partly because this is nearing the bottom of the pile. It’s also a little more broken to begin with, given it is heavier roasted.

When I brewed it though….

I noticed that it was sour 🙁

It wasn’t terribly terribly sour, but it was definitely not sour when I had it last time, maybe two or three months ago. Now, however, it’s turned sour, a bit. There’s a puckery taste to it, and you can feel it pretty well. I adjusted the brewing time and managed to keep it under control. I also noticed that the sourness faded after about two or three infusions, so the damage is limited, so far.

However, it is probably only going to get worse from now, especially given the more humid climate here. A sour tea that isn’t too sour can be salvaged by roasting it again. A sour tea that is sour all the way through though is hopeless. Some people actually like a tiny litle bit of sourness to their yancha. I find any sourness to be detracting from the overall experience… which means that I should really drink the rest of this tea up quickly before it turns for the worse.

Oh well, at least I don’t have another 200g of this to go.