This is definitely the best shou I have tried so far! I literally like every aspect of it. It brews an incredibly rich and dark burgundy coloured liquor. The smell of the wet leaf is pleasant and cooling like an autumn breeze with some plum sweetness present as well.
As for the taste, it is very balanced – somewhat savoury initially with light coffee bitterness, which transforms into cherry and sugarcane sweetness soon enough. Especially the latter steeps are more on the sweet side. In the aftertaste, there is a dark chocolate note and I get some strange “dancing” sourness on my tongue for minutes after drinking it.
For a ripe pu-erh, I would say this is a full bodied tea with a soft and velvety mouthfeel that is a little cooling. I also noticed that it makes me more focused, without any caffeine rush. I feel like this would be a good tea for my office.
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Cherry, Coffee, Dark Bittersweet, Dark Chocolate, Pleasantly Sour, Plum, Red Wine, Sugarcane, Sweet