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This sample is from last year’s Pubertea group buy – apparently there was also some in this year’s, so I will have a bit more of it to drink later! This tea looks pretty nice. Dark and obviously aged. The dry leaf had a slightly sweet, leathery and woody aroma. After a rinse, I first picked up a bit of camphor, followed by a sweet, ever so slightly musty woody aroma which reminded me of a clean antique store. There was also a slight fruity note to the aroma, like a dark currant or berry note. Not super sweet.

The flavor starts off sweet and woody, with a thick texture. In the first steep or two, I did get a bit of sharpness to the flavor which was not entirely good, but that was out of the tea quickly enough. It never really shows up distinctly in the flavor, but I pick up a bit of a coffee aroma from the liquor of the tea on occasion.

As the tea moved past the slightly sour (though still pleasant) first couple steeps, it really came into its own. Earthy, thick, woody, and sweet. There was a lightly camphorous, cooling mouthfeel after I swallowed. The woodiness came out more distinctly as I continued to steep it out, presenting a really nicely clean woody flavor for the bulk of the session.

Around steep nine or so, I noticed some fruity flavor popping up – the dark fruity (currant?) note I smelled in the aroma off the leaves at the beginning of the session.

I did notice a bit of a calming qi while drinking this tea, mostly in the upper chest/shoulders. It’s not a qi powerhouse. Flavor and texture are very nice. I’m glad I have some of this tea! The tea can be had for $0.52/g, so in terms of the more typical 200g size from artisan tea producers, that comes out to $104. Based on these two sessions, I would probably not buy this tea at the price it commands.