First off, the aroma of the dry leaf is amazing. Roasty, nutty, caramel, and yes – roasted corn like the tasting notes on the website indicate. Wet leaf aroma adds a bit of smoke. As the leaves open I notice lots of stems (again, good? bad? don’t know). Decided to brew this gongfu, starting with 30 second steeps. The next time I need to remember to follow the brewing tips and use 6-8 grams of tea, or brew grandpa style because my first steep wasn’t that great (user error – not enough tea). Anyway, longer steeps (a minute) were better. The flavor is nutty, roasty, and sweet and the aftertaste lingers on the tongue. So different from the un-roasted/lightly roasted and more floral dong dings I’ve had. I’m looking forward to trying this grandpa style, I think this tea is probably more suited to that style, for me anyway. I love a dark, robust oolong and this is definitely one of those. It’ll be great in the cold winter months.
EDIT: Did try this grandpa style at work, and it was wonderful.