Accidentally wiped my notes from this one while I was writing it…
Anyway I started at 205DEGF
1st infusion – 12 Sec
Light, a little woody, loam and slight mushroom. Drying, cooling, and mildly sweet on the second half of a sip. It tasted like walking through a forest after the rain and sitting down on a fallen tree covered in mushrooms. The complexity was nice.
2nd Infusion – 20 Sec @211DEGF
More body, more complexity. The same notes are shining through but with a solid woody base, the drying sensation stays and leaves a pleasant astringency in the mouthfeel. Somewhere between these two brews would be a natural balance. Overall it’s really nice to drink. There is some shengy tang on the nose but the medium amber liquor has smoothed out into a sweet talker.
3rd Infusion – 30 Sec @ 206DEGF
Smooth, viscous, lightly astringent. The body has remained much the same. It feels like this is what sheng should taste like. When aged properly and mellowed out.
4+ Infusions
Really shining in later infusions, good balance of flavors and a smooth but strong finish.
I can see why this would be an iconic sheng.
Flavors: Bittersweet, Mushrooms, Tangy, Wet Wood
