I like innovation, but not being able to brew in gongfu style (without breaking the branch), felt guilty. As this tea comes from Turkey, I used a Turkish tea glass as it is beautiful and can allow me to observe the untwisting leaves.
I am translating the name given to this tea from Turkish. I came across with a company coining the term ‘naked teabag’ for the same concept. It is an attractive name for sure, but not sure if I like saying tea bag even if it's accompanied by ‘naked’.
I really like the taste of the tea, it had no grassiness. It tasted sweet with some fresh floral aroma. It was produced in February 2020 although it is not a harvesting season in Turkey. So, I am thinking that it was packaged then and produced earlier. The twisted tea was composed of 4 individual leaves plucked as one bud two leaves. The total tea bag (sounds so wrong) was 1 gr which is quite low for me. I’d put at least 3 gr of green tea in my gaiwan usually. As a result, all the flavours were subtle, good but almost as subtle as white tea. Do you know what I mean?
Tea Profile:
Type: Green
Origin: Turkey
Harvest time: 2020
Leave colour: Tones of green
Liquor colour: Pale yellow
Tea aroma: Floral and fresh
Tea taste: Sweet with hints of spring flowers
Steeping/brewing:You can use around 85-90°C water temperature and brew for up to three minutes in a glass cup (long enough to cover the branch). You can brew the leaves twice or more (until the taste is lost). Experiment for a result that suits your taste.
Shelf life: Up to 24 months (fresher the better)