7g/100ml
Dry leaf appeaance – shiny, leathery slickness; slightly bigger, well-defined leaves
Dry smell – earthy, spring forest, cocoa, packed brown sugar, cookie butter, brownie batter
Wet leaf smell – dark chocolate, forest floor, dark caramel, hazelnut truffles, pumpernickel bread, double chocolate cookie dough
Liquor – dark, blood orange, almost burgundy brandy colour; quite opaque but minimal cloudiness
Texture – velvety smooth, quite thick, coats the mouth and throat nicely
Taste – sweet and light, dark chocolate/hazelnut spread over typical earthy shou taste; a tiny bit of a bitter bite at the end that adds a nice balance
Empty cup – light maple syrup
Mouth finish – when the chocolatey sweetness ends and the slight note of bitterness kicks in, the mouth coating sort of explodes and produces a lubricating salivation. A light hint of maple syrup at the back of the throat just like the empty cup smells
Wet leaves – nice, full leaves; a tiny twig or two per mini cake, but it is quite a negligible amount
Body feel – heavy in the head, but it does spread downwards throughout the whole body ending with a nice tingle in the feet. It has a nice, relaxing qi that is nice for kicking back with a good book.
This is probably my favourite Shou that I’ve had so far in my gong fu journey. It has basically everything I could hope for, from the lack of wet-pile taste, to the sweet, well-balanced flavour and velvety texture. Smoove Cocoa has something to offer all the senses, so it’s a great tea to enjoy in a mindful session. I typically like to drink shous when I don’t have much investment in the session itself and just want something nice to sip on, but this is a clear exception.
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Forgive me if this has been discussed before but – do you smell the empty cup post-drinking (e.g. “Empty cup – light maple syrup”) or post-pouring-tea-between-vessels? At one point, I noticed that with some teas, after pouring them into my travel mug, the original mug would have an absolutely enchanting aroma, often deliciously sweet, even when the tea itself wasn’t particularly sweet. The smell was kind of addicting, actually. Doesn’t happen for all teas, and is most noticeable with straight blacks/oolongs. Also, only noticeable when I pour a piping hot tea out of one mug into another (maybe something to do with evaporation?)
Anyways, sorry for the ramble; I just don’t recall ever seeing anyone mention that before!
I usually give the empty cup a bit of time to settle after drinking before I smell it, but if I don’t get enough of a scent from that, I try the empty pitcher, which is a good deal wider and deeper. You’ve made me really curious though, so I’m going to try doing it in between pours with the Golden Monkey I’m drinking right now. Thank you!
And no worries at all! I’m always up for tea discussion :) I’m still quite new at this and I don’t have any tea friends offline, so it’s nice to connect with people like this. Happy sipping!
Forgive me if this has been discussed before but – do you smell the empty cup post-drinking (e.g. “Empty cup – light maple syrup”) or post-pouring-tea-between-vessels? At one point, I noticed that with some teas, after pouring them into my travel mug, the original mug would have an absolutely enchanting aroma, often deliciously sweet, even when the tea itself wasn’t particularly sweet. The smell was kind of addicting, actually. Doesn’t happen for all teas, and is most noticeable with straight blacks/oolongs. Also, only noticeable when I pour a piping hot tea out of one mug into another (maybe something to do with evaporation?)
Anyways, sorry for the ramble; I just don’t recall ever seeing anyone mention that before!
I usually give the empty cup a bit of time to settle after drinking before I smell it, but if I don’t get enough of a scent from that, I try the empty pitcher, which is a good deal wider and deeper. You’ve made me really curious though, so I’m going to try doing it in between pours with the Golden Monkey I’m drinking right now. Thank you!
And no worries at all! I’m always up for tea discussion :) I’m still quite new at this and I don’t have any tea friends offline, so it’s nice to connect with people like this. Happy sipping!