This tea is in my opinion quite good. It ought to be for what it cost. It started out with what I would describe as notes of hay and tobacco. This lasted maybe two steeps and another taste emerged. It became quite smooth and in its own way quite sweet. Not mind you the apricot sweetness of a young sheng but something I am not sure I have tasted before, a sweetness with an aged flavor. It did not develop any of what I call unpleasant aged flavor that I have tasted in many ten year old sheng. There was no taste of wet storage. This tea must have been stored quite cleanly for it did not seem to develop any storage taste. As to qi, I am really feeling it. I am energized after fifteen steeps in my small 60ml gaiwan. I will most likely save the leaves and continue tomorrow because the leaves are not done and this was expensive. This tea rates a 100% for it’s qi and a 90% for its taste. I have enjoyed this immensely.
I steeped this tea 15 times in a 60ml gaiwan with 4.4g 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, 1 min, 1.5 min, 2 min, 2.5 min, 3 min, and 3.5 min. I would guess that there are five or six steeps at least left in this tea but maybe even ten steeps. This is also the first tea I have drank where I know the claims of gushu can be truly backed up. While some of the other teas I have drank that claim to be gushu certainly were, some of them certainly weren’t. This I don’t doubt was gushu.
Flavors: Bitter, Hay, Sweet, Tobacco
