The dry leaves’ smell is very vegetal and quite similar to a Baozhong oolong. This somewhat translates to the wet leaf aroma too, which also has some fermentation/alcohol, green pepper, licorice and bean notes. It’s a fairly sweet smell overall.
The mouthfeel of the liquor is mouth-watering, minty and coating. Later infusions display some astringency in the mouth too.
The taste is a refreshing mix of sweet and vegetal flavour. Early steeps seem to be more vegetal with notes like green pepper, celery, green beans and cabbage. On the other hand, later steeps tend to have more of fruity sweetness. More specifically, I could identify pear and honeydew tones. I can see some resemblance with both Chinese green teas and Baozhong oolongs. In the finish, there is a noticeable crisp ale sourness as well. The aftertaste has all the qualities described above supplemented by some nutty flavour.
I drunk it in the evening, and found it to be a really good evening tea. Light, refreshing, mind numbing and not very rushy are some of its qualities that contribute to this observation. It also calmed me down after the day and improved my overall mood.
Flavors: Alcohol, Beany, Celery, Fruity, Green, Green Beans, Green Pepper, Honeydew, Nutty, Pear, Pleasantly Sour, Sweet, Vegetal
I really like this one. It’s interesting how different it is from the 2015 version, which was much more heavily floral. I wish I could drink these shengs after work, but my body cannot metabolize the caffeine fast enough before 10pm.