I’ve had this sample for over two years. Back then I really did not know what to make of it. Now that I’ve tasted a range of quality young and aged sheng I thought it was time to revisit it.
This tea spent it’s first four years in humid storage, then was moved to Kunming for the remainder. It comes across as a very nice sheng that has passed through middle-aged and is on it’s way to maturity. No sign of wet storage taste that I could detect.
The steeps smell of old books, medicinal notes, camphor, leather, with a couple of hints of cabbage near the end. The cup has a slight Bulang bitterness remaining which turns sweet in the aftertaste. I also get old books, leather, light citrus, some spice, camphor and medicinal notes. Good throat lubrication with slight dryness of the mouth (an interesting contrast).
I took it through 16 steeps, but I was pushing it a bit mid-session to see how the leaf reacted. It was always very smooth with no sign of astringency. I also got a great calming energy from it, and around steep 10 I heard the dying reverberation of a temple bell playing in my head for several minutes. I really enjoyed how this tea made me feel, in addition to the flavor.
Although a little pricey, I’m going to add a bing to my stash.
Flavors: Camphor, Citrus, Leather, Medicinal, Spices
Preparation
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I cold-steeped the leaves for 24 hours and the result is like drinking a glass of sweet peach iced tea! Really good :D
Next I’m going to boil the leaves to see what’s left.
Not much flavor left when I boiled the leaves after the cold steep. I guess it’s best to one or the other. In the case of this tea, the cold steep was killer!
I like this one. I never bought a cake and ended up buying samples several times.
Agreed, I like the way this has aged. If it were cheaper I’d buy a couple.
That sounds really good. I just looked at the price though. Way out of my league, but I reckon a sample with my next order to Yunnansourcing would be a good idea.
Enjoying my sample. Lost track of the number of steeps.
I cold-steeped the leaves for 24 hours and the result is like drinking a glass of sweet peach iced tea! Really good :D
Next I’m going to boil the leaves to see what’s left.
Not much flavor left when I boiled the leaves after the cold steep. I guess it’s best to one or the other. In the case of this tea, the cold steep was killer!
I like this one. I never bought a cake and ended up buying samples several times.
Agreed, I like the way this has aged. If it were cheaper I’d buy a couple.
That sounds really good. I just looked at the price though. Way out of my league, but I reckon a sample with my next order to Yunnansourcing would be a good idea.
Enjoying my sample. Lost track of the number of steeps.