I like where this one’s going already at such a young age. My sample is mostly a whole chunk with layers easy to peel. It’s quite the mix of shapes and colors, from almost black to brown, olive and beige with some beige-grey needles and a few gold ones. Dry leaf smells soft, sweet, vegetal, yeasty. Rinsed leaf aroma is peach, a light smoke and green beans. Rinse color is a light honey and I don’t know if my eyes are playing tricks – a tinge of pink.
Starts off light bodied and mineral, gaining some light honey with some sourness mid-mouth and light bitterness in the back. Fruity apricot/peach aftertaste. As the steeps progress, the honey disappears. The tea becomes more savory and the sourness becomes identifiable as citric in nature. It continues to get more tart and more bitter, leaving my mouth raw. Then, right when I expect a lot of sheng to lose steam, this one really blossoms. I notice a thickening of the liquor, a fullness in my throat, a persistent sweetness in the back, the bitterness and tartness fade, some light cooling and grassiness show up and the minerals return. Apricot and bready aftertastes linger for a while. It takes to over-steeping well in this later stage. Wasn’t keeping track but I think I got between 12 and 16 steeps.
Poking around, I see several different types of leaf, a lot of them whole and robust, some outlined with oxidation, some fat needles and an outlier leaf that’s longer than my middle finger. Quite the blend. Some charred bits in the bottom of the cup. No stomach discomfort at all. Energy in the beginning was kind of sedating, then later I noticed how utterly caffeinated I was.
This sheng fits my profile pretty well – not floral, not too sweet. Considering a cake for the price. I’m curious where this one will go.
