After me being a hovering pest a few months ago, I caved and got a bunch of Fushou and a few Gaoshans from trident. They were really kind to do my order over the phone before they got the supply on the website, and they included a sample of a freakin’ competition tea.
I should start doing blind tasting notes because the power of persuasion is high with this one, or the notes were just nailed. I’ve only rinsed and gong fu steeped my 8 grams in 5 ish oz after 35 seconds.
It’s got the trademark honey-charcoal taste of Gui Fei’s plus some. There are very few roasted oolongs I’ve had that actually have a chocolate note like this one, almost tasting like a chocolate flavored tea. The chocolate malt is just as pronounced as the the peachy honey in the aftertaste. There’s a really cool floral osmanthus that transitions from the chocolate note directly into the peach. The charcoal is there in hints to texture the aftertaste, yet it’s more pronounced in aroma.
Second brew closer to 25 seconds, and the peach is upfront followed by the chocolate malt note instead, hinted by what my brain registers as hazelnut. It’s malty and nutty like a really high grade yancha, which is pretty damn impressive.
I’m going to stop here so I don’t leave another mini-book. I’ll add the later steeps if I notice anything distinct beyond what I just wrote or charcoal notes. I personally would not want a stash of this one because I don’t see myself drinking it often, yet I am very happy to get to try something I like drinking. It’s definitely a tea snobs tea, but the flavor profile is something that I can see intermediate drinkers getting behind.
Flavors: Charcoal, Chocolate, Floral, Hazelnut, Honey, Malt, Osmanthus, Peach, Roast Nuts, Smoke, Smooth
