Given the price, this shou mei is a steal. Don’t miss out on it! It’s such a comforting and characterful brew, I am in awe. The liquor colours are much darker than in the pictures, at least in the way I brew it. They range from dark orange to red/burgundy for the heavier steeps.
The aromas are a mix of fermented fruits (especially federweisser) and earthy ones (peat and autumn leaf pile especially). The liquor is full-bodied and has quite a complex taste and yet it’s so easy to drink. You can really push this tea and it never gets unpleasantly bitter or astringent, just stronger. If you want a tea that’s impossible to mess up, look no further.
There are flavours of wild blackberry, black grapes, forest floor, sourdough bread and alcohol, as well as many other ones I am sure. Overall, the taste well balanced between fruity and earthy and between sweet and sour. The aftertaste is also strong and very tart. Over time, it shows some underlying spiciness that stays in the throat for a long time together with a pine note that emerges. The infusions that I left to brew for a long time also display some herbal character. The mouthfeel is great too. It is thick, creamy and silky with a light powdery feeling.
Highly recommended, especially at its current price.
One last thing I note is that it seems to have quite a lot of caffeine and the feeling is rushy, which is not great, but only a minor flaw for me.
edit: The last infusion, simmered for half an hour, is very different. Notes of roasted nuts, burnt bread crust and grapefruit, strong tannins that I can feel all the way down my throat, powdery, strong and bitter aftertaste that evolves into a sweet woody one, it’s all there.
Flavors: Alcohol, Autumn Leaf Pile, Berries, Bitter, Blackberry, Bread, Burnt Food, Creamy, Forest Floor, Fruity, Grapefruit, Grapes, Herbaceous, Molasses, Musty, Peat, Pine, Roasted Nuts, Sour, Spices, Sweet, Tannic, Tart, Thick, Wet Earth, Wood, Yeast
