Metadrinking

I'm not sure how I like the Red Robe I bought the other day but It may be related to sources other than the tea itself.

I hadn't had the Red Robe before and was really looking forward to it. It smelled complex and was highly regarded by the price I paid for it, the shop I bought it from and what I had read about it. I brewed a pot of it yesterday and wasn't really impressed, it had a traditional Oolong flavor (sort of smokey, a little bitter, citrus aftertaste) but the flavor was fairly muted. On subsequent brews more flavor came out but nothing that knocked my socks off. I brewed another pot tonight with some friends and they also seemed nonplus about it. So is it me or the tea?

It could be, a) The tea isn't that great, b) This is an excellent example of Red Robe but I don't like Red Robe, or c) my expectations were too high and that was the cause of the disappointment. I tend to think that it is c) and wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't had any of the preconceptions about the tea prior to tasting it.

Regardless, I cant' be too critical of it as I've brewed two pots in as many days, have been trying to figure it out the entire time and am now blogging about it. I've been going through the same thing with music lately. For example, I heard Neutral Milk Hotel's The Aeroplane Flies High for the first time recently, was completely confused by it and was pretty sure it was terrible. The album couldn't figure out whether it was an acoustic folk album or orchestral rock and went from too lean to too saturated. Now I can't stop listening to it, but I'm still not sure if it is good.

There is something I love about art (and yes, tea is art) that makes you feel uncomfortable and confused but keeps you interested.