This challenge made it to day 300! Yay! Interesting choice for the day, I have a slightly off-putting tisane from Guizhou to review.
It was gifted to me by a thoughtful friend who recently visited Guizhou and brought me some ‘interesting’ tea. She did not know what it was, we could not read Chinese. The leaves did not look like tea to me, so I thought it could be a tisane but did not have a clue. I was struck by the smelly and oily looking leaves which I could not understand. I had never seen such a tea before. The packaging had a barcode, and it led me to a WeChat account, and I could ask what the tea was.
It was a type of Kuding tea which is a famous Chinese Medicine Tea. Actually, I reviewed the ordinary Kuding tea in this challenge earlier. Here it is. It looks very different from this one. This tea has been fermented, which probably explain its seaweedy or leathery smell. I did not enjoy drinking it much, but I do not think I am the only one. Made from the leaves of ilex plant, this tea has many medicinal properties, including relieving heat. Apparently, it also has a laxative effect which I did not know about by the time I tried it.
It was undoubtedly an exciting experience. Had my friend not been to Guizhou and brought this tea to me, I do not think I would have found out about it. I believe it is a local flavour and not well known nationally or internationally.
Tea profile:
Type: Tisane
Origin: Guizhou Harvest time: 2019? Leaf colour: Shiny dark green leaves Liquor colour: Murky greenish colour
Tea Aroma: Seaweed
Tea taste: Slightly unpleasant seaweed and leather flavours
Steeping: Place 2-3 g of tea leaves in a gaiwan/teapot. Boil, filter and drink. The same leaves can be boiled about three times.
Shelf life: Unavailable
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