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I did my best to brew this one as described: 7g in 200ml for 1 min, 45 sec, then longer steeps with higher temps.
my friend quickly exclaimed that it tastes, oddly enough, like chicken soup.
It does indeed have a deep mineral salty aspect, and creaminess that suggest chicken soup – with wheatgrass.
smells like fresh grass- very vegetal as expected for a sencha.
after drinking several cups I fely very refreshed, cleansed, surprisingly keen and alert – as if my vision has become sharper and more focused.
very excellent re-set effect – like being reborn into the present moment. an excellent tea to restore yourself around 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. on a workday.
no negative ‘cold stomach’ low oxidized tea effects detected.

The distinguishing characteristics of this tea in comparison with other greens is the salty richness of it. gives the tea a deep, nourishing quality.

This is it: a pre 2000 sheng with wonderful aged character at approx 22 cents per gram.

aroma of dry leaves in warmed pot is simply fantastic and meets my expectations what aged pu er should smell like:
musty but not dusty or moldy, with undertones of tobacco, wood, earth, tangy aged fruit (menghai character?) and a vaporous velvety character.

now the challenge is to bring out this aroma and flavor as much as possible in the actual infusions.

I tried it once with approx 7 grams in about 120 ml 20 second steeps.
and once again with about 3g of broken leaf 100ml 1 minute steeps.

the second time it was more hearty, savory, and creamy. notes below are from first session.

balanced, plesant cha qi:
smooth and comforting to the stomach, and after initial warmth and slight sweating on first 2 infusions, there is a cooling sensation in the outer regions of the upper body. clear, stable mind, no jittery caffeine jolt.

flavor and aroma are a satisfying yet less intense version of the warmed leaf description above. if these can be intensified with proper brewing and/or ageing, then this could very well be an ultimate pu erh experience by my humble standards.

I love this tea and it is currently at the top of my re-order list.
If you live in Israel and want to try it drop me a line :)

beautiful cake with faint and very pleasing dry-apricot fruit leather aroma to the dry leaf.

Seems to yield the best results with scalding hot water , approx 3-4 g per 100-120 ml, and about 1+ minute steep time.
Full bodied, sweet floral. In my experience it is not orchid as in low oxidized oolong, more like bouquet of mixed garden flowers.

An enjoyable cake for its educational and novelty value and a good low caffeine alternative.

wonderful aged wood aroma to dry leaves.
highly reminiscent in flavor/aroma/mouthfeel appearance of a clean shu pu erh, so it must be well aged.
predominantly wood and earth characteristics. no smokyness, dry mouth or bitterness detected.
the best infusions are the first 3-4, where the vaporous quality is most predominant. afterwards, it becomes a bit ‘silty’/cloudy much like many shu pu erhs that I have had.

steeped about 10 mostly whole cacao beans in porcelain competition tasting set.

nice sweet tea with cacao aroma as expected.

the reason why I am reviewing it here, is because it appears to balance out the side effects of drinking too much caffeinated tea

I drank many cups of dan cong, until my hands were sweaty. just now, I drank a few cups of this, and I feel a pleasant, strengthening warmth along the sides of lower torso. a ‘refueling’ grounding effect. defininitely warming.

One the better shu’s that I have had the privilege to come across.
Clean earthy aroma. Hearty and warming. It Does indeed have a pastry-like character. Easy to brew and consistent across many infusions

This one exceeded my expectations.
One of my favorite shus so far.
brewed in kajmojive device using filtered water.

roasted, fermented grain malty, yes- I can see the corn associations here. Caramel goodness reveals itself in later steepings.
very clean with no fermentation aroma/taste.

a good tea for digestion, especially during winter months- when lightly oxidised tea should be consumed with caution by those whose digestion is sensitive to cold-natured food and drink

This is a truly excepectional sheng with strong floral aroma across many infusions and superb meditative cha qi.

I was fortunate enough to have received a 10g as a gift of this rare, expensive tea.

before reading about it or knowing what it was, I dropped half of these dark, long, substantial leaves and iridescent buds in a standard competition tasting set.

Set and setting could not have been better: alone on a quiet evening by the fireplace, following a meditation session.

Heavenly fragrance, mostly floral yet also fruity emanating from the wet leaves.

I happily went through about 7 infusions, 10-20 seconds each, each time amazed that the aroma is still strong. Soft, gentle tea. evokes a calm and serene state of being.

Being a young sheng it was a bit drying to the mouth, and I had mild stomach ache for about 10 min.
I awoke refreshed and took the remaining tea to the office, where after reading the description of this tea, and its price, I proceeded to brew it countless times to make the most of these precious leaves.

I am very glad to have another session left of this heavenly sheng. It is by far the most intensly floral pu er I have tried, and evokes a very nice state of being.

EDIT: I just tried this one again. this time in a competition tasting kit.
Its actually quite a wonderful tea, with a relatively aged, mellow flavor.
perhaps there was aftertaste in the water from the metal thermos I used last time, or my standards were too high because the last 2 teas I had before it were high-end shengs.
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Sorry, but I cant say I like this one. Something about it just doesn’t feel right. Doesn’t evoke the usual wholesome happy feeling in the body and mind that i’ve grown to expect from quality tea.
Its also thin and not as sweet as other shengs in its class that came in the same shipment.
On the plus side, leaves dropped in a warm pot emanate a pleasant, strong aroma surprisingly similar to clean shu pu er. After the wash, aroma is vaguely similar to fresh bread dough, also found in shu in my experience.
Flavor is tarry and slightly fruity.

Seems rather aged for its vintage, probably due it part to the light compression, or perhaps it underwent relatively wet storage or was made using aged mao cha.

Brewing params: the usual 7g in 160ml duan ni pot. boiling water. 3-20 sec infusion times. Used mostly loose leaves rather than a whole chunck from this lightly compressed sample.

One of my all time favorites. Very easy to drink and sure to appeal to almost any palate. Very high quality compared to other teas in its price range and above. Reminiscent of the taiwanese’dark pearl’ tea that I sampled about 6 months ago. http://www.palaisdesthes.com/en/taiwan-dark-pearl-2146.html

brewing parameters:
Grams: 5
Temp: 100 celcius.
Water: 100ml (approx) filtered.
Steep time: 2-15 seconds for first 6 infusions. 40secs-2min after 6th
infusion.
Vessel: standard competition tasting set.
Number of infusions: 10. First 7 had strong flavor.

Notes:
Dry leaf aroma: strong, deep, complex, rich honey floral.
Wet leaf and infusion aroma: same as dry leaf, with more sweetness, and
fruity-plum notes.
Texture: Sufficiently thick. Smooth. Silky around the 4th infusion.
Flavor: Same as aroma. Sweet, well rounded with seamless integration of
flavors. No astringency – easy to drink unsweetened even for non-tea
lovers.
Aftertaste: lingering floral aroma.
Body sensations: Seems gentle and soothing to the stomach.

By the 5th infusion, the flavor is plummy. subtle, yet distinct orchid
aroma rises to the nose seconds after each sip, much like the imperial
grade monkey king black.

Its no wonder that this black dancong is near the top of jkteashop’s hot sellers list. I quickly ordered another 50 grams to add to my premium stockpile, along with a few samples of other hot sellers. One thing I am learning about online tea shops is that it pays off to go for the most popular/highly rated. These are a safe bet and a great way to discover new gems.