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I bought this because it was cheap. So so super cheap. The good stuff (high-quality yancha) is known for being quite expensive, so I figured if this tea was decent it would be a good daily drinker to take to school.

Overall this tea’s meh. I got what I payed for and it made me really appreciate the more expensive stuff I buy. However, this will be fine for sipping in French class.

This was apart of Verdant’s 5 for 5.

10, 10, 20, 30, 40,

Dry leaf: smokey, mild honey
Leaf after a rinse: cabbage? broccoli? very vegetal, not much of a floral aspect to this.

I’m very surprised no one else commented on the smokiness of this. The beginning of the sip is more floral but the flavor that lingers is pretty smoky. Upon inspection of the leaf I found a few leaves that were blacked on the edges. Maybe I just got a particularly smoky sample. The flavor is pretty consistent with young sheng, nothing that really jumps out at me. Not much sweetness, though later steepings became more palatable.

Overall, this tea isn’t awful. I can’t say I was terribly impressed

This is from Verdant’s 5 for 5.

15, 30, 45, 60, 1m30

This is one of the lighter roasted Big Red Robes I’ve had. It honestly reminds me of Tie Guan Yin. I used my usual yancha parameters and just found this to be unexciting. It leaves a metallic taste (not a pleasant mineral note) on the tongue and is astringent. This tea had a unpleasant drying affect to my throat. I usually drink wuyis with heavy leaf and short steeps so I don’t think that’s what’s causing the problem. If I had more than 5 grams of this I would experiment with the brewing parameters.

Overall, not terribly impressed. The flavor was okay but the mouth-feel was disappointing.

This was a part of Verdant’s 5 for 5.
30, 60, 90, ect.

The dry leaf has this really nice chocolaty smell.
The first steep reminded me of chocolate covered fruit, pomegranate or cherry. The texture was really silky. Steep two really brought out a rich cocoa flavor like hot chocolate. Steep three was incredibly sweet. Less hot chocolaty and more like a chocolate bar now. No astringency at all.

Overall, a pretty delicious tea. It wasn’t very malty or citrusy which was nice. However, after reading over the Verdant controversy, I don’t know if I can bring myself to make a real order.

Today’s a rainy day, so I thought it’d be perfect to try out this sample.

45, 60, 90, 120, ect

This tea is interesting because it’s not as “in your face” as black tea can sometimes be. I just threw my sample into my gaiwan, so maybe with more leaf it could be, but the character in this one just seems milder. The description of baked goods is incredibly accurate. I got a lot of sweetness, especially as it cooled.

10, 10, 20, 30, 40, ect

This is something I could definitely drink everyday. It has a bit of cinnamon spiciness. Sweet, a little grassy, fruity with a tiny bit of astringency. It’s really refreshing. I think this would be an interesting cake to age and see where those flavors go.

This was a sample in my last Mandala Tea order. The dry leaf smells very smokey, like the remnants of a campfire left on your clothes. This is really different from the two other young raws I’ve had which have a more of a floral and sweet smell. Whoa! The first infusion blew me away. Sweet, citrusy, a little spice, with some background smokiness. There’s a pleasant astringency there too. Lemon lingers in the mouth. Maybe almost a little basil or mint?

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I’d love to get a cake and see how it changes.

The dry leaf on this one certainly seems much more fruity and less honey like compared to the 2012 “Heart of the Old Tree”. The first few steeps were light and crisp, a little lemony. The flavor coated my mouth and lasted for a bit. The later steeps were less “in your face” and more mild and sweet. This tea gave me this really interesting feeling in my chest, something I’ve never experienced before. This tea is a really easy to drink, with not much if any bitterness (I’m not particularly sensitive to bitterness).

Overall, really nice to drink. I’m probably going to get a cake.

This is my first experience with young sheng! How exciting!

The smell of the dry leaf was just incredible, honey and floral. After doing a short rinse, the smell of the leaf had changed, more noticeably smoky but still retaining that floral element. The first few infusions were light, grassy and very easy to drink with no bitterness. The later infusions were interesting, like wine or cider.

Overall, this tea was incredibly refreshing after a long day. After this really positive experience with young sheng, I can’t wait to try more.