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free sample, 6g gaiwan, 2x rinse. still has youth and apricot aromas, grape seed astringency on long steeps that I pushed a little, relatively gentle (but not weak). soft and pillowy is description. honestly was surprised by how much I enjoyed this and how fast I drank it. mouthfeel is really soft and full bodied, smooth in throat (no catch). some returning sweetness. calming body feels. soothing. this may pass the ‘mom test’. dry white wine. gentle huigan and some sinus opening. Not sure how this will age, its definitely taking its time, but its a pleasure to drink.

aroma of steamed leaves in warmed teapot were very soothing, blend between young sheng turning corner into a semi-aged sheng. no aroma from brewed tea. liquor was too thin and watery for the price of this tea that’s advertised as “thick”. however it was smooth in the throat with no catch. flavor was green/vegetable not complex and weak/light flavor. No huigan, no kuwei, no calming, chaotic chi. whatever blend was used doesn’t seem cohesive. The energy is just as disjointed and chaotic. It was pushing my stomach into my solar plexus, and causing a discomfort, like when you have that feeling of a pit in your stomach, but it was moving upwards. Not much flavor or sweetness. Not my cup of tea. Objectively, its also not worth the current price of $249/200g. Its not so much of a flawed tea, just didn’t deliver. W2T seems to randomly/arbitrarily increase prices every year but sometimes you have to ask why isn’t the price going down, like on a tea like this? Maybe its at a weird transitional spot, is all I can think of if I wanted to be an optimist

smooth thick and creamy, no catch in throat. subltle huigan. has a “classic YS” flavor. hint of smoke, hint of dry storage and bitterness, hint of higher register florals, and calming/soothing. liquor is extremely thick and smooth, gelatinous. mouthfeel is the biggest feature of this tea, and it overshadows any flaws The flavor is a bit tannic/higher register, acetic but by a hint of smoke/ash. This is a “I need a scotch” sort of tea IMO. Not something I’d drink regularly but as another reviewer said a medicinal tobacco like quality. It did get monotonous and after about 8 steeps I didn’t want to drink any more

No idea why I got a sample except maybe I wanted to check a box that I drank a Feng Qing 7813 in my mental notebook and have it for reference what 7813 tasted like.

First 2 steeps after rinses were a bit musty. This tea needs 3 rinses. Otherwise very clean.

Bud-heavy sheng doesn’t age well generally but this tea is doing fine. I do not think it will age much more, get better, or turn into anything great, but where it is now its in a decent spot. I would not buy this with the intention to age it, or even to drink it slowly. This is a tea that needs to be consumed sooner than later.

That said, its a solid daily drinker. (I think “daily drinker” is over used for many teas that are lackluster but not “bad”, just not good. Daily drinker to me doesn’t mean “average” or “doesn’t suck”. Rather it means it hits all the satisfying notes a tea should have but in a manner that is just “less” than higher end more expensive material so you get a solid tea session without the price, and without being tea drunk or knocked out by the tea’s power)

It hits all the notes of a good tea but just in a more subtle and short-lasting effect. There are some flaws but they’re minor. Like there’s a bit of metallic flavor in the aftertaste on the edges of the tongue. Minor stuff.

Thicker/creamy mouthfeel, sweet gentle floral flavor, lingering sweet floral after taste, huigan, no catch in throat, no astringency, deep breaths and relaxation, calming without sedating, and not boring or bland, leaves mouth wet and not cloying.

At $40/cake this is a deal reminiscent of the $32 W2T Repave deal a few years ago. I would not pay $50 for this tea, but at $40 its not bad at all if you’re on a budget.

“floral aromas and juicy character of this tea lull the drinker into an ease of drinking that masks the potency of this tea.” I concur.

dry leaf smells amazing

First cha-hai was amazingly good, aromatic perfume coming from cup, juicy, smooth, really easy to drink. flavor was very good, it reminds me of northern teas. there’s a honey-like, sweet floral lilac (?) perfume from cup. I held cup to my nose for a whole minute just smelling and enjoying it

goes down very smooth and is smooth to drink, no throat catch, but slight astringency interferes with smoothness.

second cha-hai was very boring, vegetal, monotonous, and effortful to drink. I had to actually force myself to drink it and it was not settling in my stomach. I realized I was still drinking this out of habit, so as to not waste tea, but really not liking it.

after 2nd cha-hai the aftertaste wasn’t bad, but it started to annoy. vegetal with a hint of tangy, cloying, bland/sour after taste. the aftertaste was also sticky and mouth coating, in an unpleasant way.

But wait, there’s more! At the end of the session is when all the stuff happened. the kuwei and strong cooling huigan showed up. I had to lean back and started taking deep heavy breathing – right when I was about to discount this tea is when the tea showed up to the party and made me relax and rethink.

Summary: this tea is extremely smooth body, good perfume in the first few steeps…then some intermission you have to suffer through (drink the bitter tea?) then you get to the nice effects (huigan, kuwei, chaqi). However, I didn’t get any qi in later sessions.

Overall this tea was light but still had some kick to it that I think this could withstand a little aging, but I’m not sure if it will improve with age or in what direction it will develop. It also seems like maybe its already entering that “weird” phase even though its only 2 years old, but I don’t know.

I think its way too expensive for what this tea is delivering. Its good, or rather its not bad, but for $.79/g, I’d be better off buying a higher end cake of some other (older) boutique tea.

supposedly the favorite blend of the year by W2T’s owner and I agree, was my favorite of all the samples I got in the last year. High end material.

I have to admit this tea really wow’d me. It had a bitterness to it that was young and wild, but still tame and not overpowering. I will caution – this bitterness is an acquired taste.

It was just so good. Thick, creamy, juicy, bitter, huigan, kuwei, just couldn’t stop drinking it and this tea outlasted me. Don’t think I’ve been able to finish a session yet.

The energy of this tea is best described by heightened senses or awareness, a sense of being present, focus, awareness, heightened senses…there was a bit of dizziness like your head spins but similar to when you take TCM herbs and you feel energy being shifted by the herbs, revealing how off-balance you were. Dizziness wasn’t lasting and didn’t make me nauseous. I enjoyed it.

6g, hongni shuiping, 2x rinse

steamed and rinsed aroma was the most tangy juicy tart sweet smell I’ve ever experienced – sort of like pinot noir wine and amazingly delicious complex aromas I’ve ever smelled in leaves. (steamed aroma = dry leaves in warmed teapot)

the flavor of the first 2-5 steeps was super complex I just can’t describe it, honestly not even going to do it justice. it was amazing, delicious, juicy, complex, subtle huigan and kuwei and chaqi was sinking stomach.

this tea was not very smooth though, a roughness while drinking it in every area. Rough in mouth, rough in throat, rough aftertaste…rough.

astringent kuwei

all the effects of the first few steeps faded and never returned which left me…dissatisfied.

it was effortful to finish this tea session but given the “difficult to acquire material that rarely sees the light of day in the larger market” I pushed through to see what this was all about.

this tea is still young and will definitely benefit from some age, definitely needs some time to age, and the roughness I think will dissipate and smooth as it ages. It is only 6 months old so…I am hoping it develops longevity and smoothness. But then the wonderful complexity of flavor/aromas may fade.

liquor was medium thick (or rather it was not thin bodied)

This is supposedly very high end tea and I can tell, and agree. but its not something that really impressed me “overall” (the wow’ing experience up front was really averaged out by the weak finish of the tea session)

it was clean, no ill body effects, long lasting mouth watering kuwei even 20 minutes after drinking.

I plan to revisit this tea in a few months, and maybe in a year or two see how its developing. For the price, right now there are more aged teas that perform better to invest in. This is quality tea, but is it “my cup of tea”? I was tempted to get a cake, but backed out and opted for 2017 Treachery of storytelling pt 2 and 2020 I Am.

started out pretty good, thick and deep flavors, nice aroma, but by the 2nd chahai it was vegetable and 1-dimentional, and I was already bored and done with it. basically it faded pretty quick on me and nothing notable to really explore

its a good tea, but not worth a cake imo

6g, hongni shuiping, 2x rinse

I woke up feeling groggy, stuffed up, congested, and dry after a sudden temperature drop and resulting rush of dry air, and an exhausting week. This tea cleared me up with ease, it cleared my throat, cleared my sinuses, opened my lungs, cleared my eyes, basically purging dryness and lubricating to the mucus membranes. its amazing to see a tea act so powerfully but gentle.

I’m not saying this tea is amazing compared to other teas, but from a “medicinal” or therapeutic perspective, it was just what I needed.

It is also good flavored and lasting clean feeling in mouth. A bit vegetal with a tangy note in there, which should round off with a bit more age.