First Tieguanyin, part of a 5 teas for $5 sample set by Verdant Tea company

Do we use the word 'shake' in the tea community, I wonder? This reminds me of when I would buy a nickle bag of some homegrown weed and would get the 'shake', those sifty, loose tiny bits, the trash in other words. Maybe that's how this tea is done, or perhaps I got the end of a bag.
In any case, reminds me of 'shake' which I haven't thought about in 30 years, ( the last time I partook of the weed!).
Brewed the generous sample of almost 6 grams with water at about 180 in a 5 ounce gaiwan which is quickly becoming my vessel and brewing parameters of choice when brewing new teas. If the water is close to boiling I tend not to like the tea at all.

Taste was very unremarkable but not unpleasant, color was pale. I bet I am not getting the best possible first impression here, am I?

On to the next sample!

Hope I can depend on Verdant Tea in the future to impress me more than this initial offering.

UPDATE on the damaged Tieguan and a nice email from Verdant Tea...
Hi Hannah,

Thank you so much for getting in touch with us, and for trying out our "5 for 5". I am very sorry to hear about the Tieguanyin! I took a look at the pictures, and you are correct, it looks like you received a lot of broken leaf in your sample. While we do our best to never send out the tea dust and broken leaf the occurs from the tea settling during transit, mistakes sometimes happen. I will gladly refund you the $5 you paid for the sample pack. You will see this reflected in your bank account within the next few business days.

Many thanks again for your business and support! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the Yunnan White Jasmine! I hope you enjoy the other samples as well! As the issue with the Tieguanyin was due to breakage, and not specific to this harvest, you should not encounter this problem again! Feel free to choose it as your free sample when you purchase more Yunnan White Jasmine, if you'd like.

Best Wishes,

Kelsey