Relearning about tea's tastes

There are many different types of tastes associated with tea that are viewed as important. Even more amazing is some of them barely qualify as tastes in the western sense of the word. These tastes are often more sensations, or "feels" as opposed to actual tastes. While I am sure I have been feeling these all along, I never quite focused on them or fully realized some of them or even viewed them as a way to appreciate a tea that may have lacked in other aspects.

I feel I might have prefaced this in excess, but I opened up my 2011 Tea Gallery Iron Warrior Monk finally, and brewed up a batch, and it was a barely more than mediocre tea in the aspect I am used the viewing teas. While it had good flavor they were not remarkable, it was an incredibly well crafted tea, and not a bad Wuyi Rock Tea. But this tea was remarkable in one sense, I had such a great "Throat feel" from this tea.

Now I am not sure I could quite describe it exactly as I felt it, but upon drinking each sip, it was almost there was a mini explosion of warmth and comfort in the center of my chest which radiated up into my throat, in a warm mineral feel. I should emphasize that this is different than just the feeling of drinking a warm drink, this was a lingering effect that while I was plenty warm already seemed to travel in an interesting fashion, almost like a quite pleasant tasting heart burn.

This is something I will now look for in other teas I drink, and search for other types of throat feel. I have heard of throat feel before but I guess I have never quite had such a profound example that jumped out to me as "this is what they are talking about."