Quite mature for its age, with slight wet-storage, which doesn’t seem to manifest itself in the cup. Of course, as a person partial to wetter-storage, YMMV. The tea itself sits very firmly and thickly in the mouth, leaving an aftertaste that sticks around for a while. What’s most surprising about this particular tea is how much bitterness it has left. It’s definitely not astringency or sharpness, but a sort of herbal/medicinal bitterness, reminds me of a bitter herbal tea that my parents sometimes drink. In other words, bitterness in a good way and with an interesting flavor profile/“texture.”
Tasted better than all the other samples I got from Essence of Tea (except for his 80s Liu An which I haven’t tried yet), which is surprising since all the other teas I got were older than this one. Alas, I bought the last cake and it may not be re-stocked for a while. Currently hunting for it online as a back-up plan.
