2016 Sheng Olympics sampler. Picked this one today largely at random. It is pretty good. It has not lost all it’s apricoty sweetness from when it was a young sheng. It is very smooth. It is a little astringent. No real negative notes at all. No wet storage, no off tastes. The only thing I would say about it is from the color of the brewed tea it doesn’t seem to have aged that much. Probably because it was dry stored. This is one I would consider buying if the price isn’t too high. I think to put this tea away for ten years you would get something amazing but it would take a while. It did have, what do you say, a very strong mouth feel and a bit of an aftertaste.
I brewed this tea ten times in a 100ml gaiwan with 6g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min. I could definitely have gotten another four or five steeps out of this tea but am at my caffeine limit.
Flavors: Astringent, Sweet