#### Notes D2 -- Sweet and slightly fruity ("stone fruit"? I dunno maybe). Easily and quickly becomes astringent. Overall it's not bad but it's not my favorite tea. (I think basically no tea distributors are picking their best teas to decaffeinate, alas.) C2 -- Weird! It doesn't eliminate the astringency, but it does knock it down a fair bit. The overall flavor shifts towards the vegetable, but not vegetal, if that makes sense. Like, a little potato-y, rather than grassy/spinach. But not yam-y like GABA. D2 w/80C start (mid 70s C temp in the brewer) -- Definitely ameliorates the astringency to a good degree, but also noticeably weakens the overall brew. It will be interesting to try lowering the temp while pushing the long steeps. D w/85C water throughout -- Better balance. Reasonable level of bitterness, not very astringent, doesn't seem too understeeped. Fairly savory. A little sweetness emerges after it's been resting for a bit, along with a little extra astringency. Interestingly, when I later came back and did a more western-style steep of the same leaves with 94C water, I got more sweetness. Grandpa, 3g -- Nice! Not harsh, sweet, pleasant drinking. ##### Salami Test - 30 seconds sweet, slightly tangy - 60 Seconds, Slight astringency and slightly sour - 90 seconds, moderately bitter 12 seconds, astringency increases. - Bitterness steady 150 seconds, Thicker ##### Stacked Progress Test (Pattern D2) - Steep 1 -- see above - steep 2 -- Slightly weaker, astringency already peeks out - Steep 3 -- as steep 2 - Steep 4 --Body starts to form - Steep 5 -- Initial impression: Pretty good balance but not super complex or interesting #### Vendor Copy > **Origin:** Zhejiang, China > **Brew Color:** Golden jade > **Flavor Profile:** A vegetal, crisp finish > **Caffeine Content:**  > > Our decaffeinated Organic Maofeng green tea, one of China's revered green teas, translates to Fur peak, is cultivated from the young delicate twisted leaves, withered, lightly baked and dried. This decaf version is suitable for those who want to enjoy a cup of green tea without the side effects of caffeine. Because nothing else is affected during this process, the tea retains its flavors and beneficial polyphenol antioxidants. > > This tea is decaffeinated by exposing moistened tea leaves to pressurized carbon dioxide, which acts as a solvent to remove the caffeine. Because nothing else is affected during this process, the tea retains its flavors and beneficial antioxidants.