I finished this 10g sample pouch of what I think is Spring 2018 harvest. Kind of. By throwing it out.
So… this tea does not play well with long steeps gongfu. It tasted pretty good in the first steep, light-bodied and oily with minerals, salt and a playful lemon but entered bad territory very quickly in the second steep with the leaf smelling very sulfuric with eggs and peanut and butter. Tastes of florals including lilac along with some kale and fresh sugarcane. But it was weirdly bitter with a an overripe honeydew aftertaste that did NOT mix well with the sweetness and florals. By the third steep I made an audible ‘Eugh.’ and the aftertaste was like buttered, nearly rotten winter squash. Like wtf?? Into the compost with you, you bad leaf.
So… stick with short steeps. Plenty of florals in the mouth early on, and with the swallow some lemon water followed by light saltiness. There was a weird fleeting aftertaste of potting soil with the first steep, but I could look past that. The liquor continued to stay pretty light in taste with some vegetal coming forward and light astringency that lasted. The aftertastes were the most prominent part of the tea with a good mix of butter, fresh sugarcane and fresh florals (my guess would be iris) with an addition of coconut cream?, changing into light pineapple, then banana leaf and ending on light peach. Around the fourth steep, the buttery taste became quite prominent and the liquor had an accompanying slipperiness in the mouth and on my lips. The last few steeps ended with tastes of corn and light butter.
Idk man, this tea was all over the place and although it started off nicely it became totally unbalanced. I’d be scared to brew it western :x
Edit: just to add to the confusion, the dry leaf was wonderfully fragrant with a strong pine nut note I wish showed up in the flavor.
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Try less grammage? I’m guessing you may have already tried. Otherwise, I remember that the Misty Mountain was a pretty good Shan Lin Xi. I swore that I tried the one you just wrote about and thought it was too vegetal four years ago, or I at least talked to someone in regards to it recommending the Misty Mountain over it, but I do not see a note on it. Either way, that’s a shame. I used to love Shan Lin Xi’s myself, but they can be a little too savory for me.
You’re note’s comprehensive, btw. :)
I’m not sure less grammage would change it for the better and I have none left to try. It wasn’t that it was overwhelming in any flavors or its savoriness but that the tea seemed jumpy both in mouth and in taste progression. There was no flow with these nuggets. Thanks for the word on Misty Mountain. This definitely hasn’t turned me off from Shanlinxi, so I’ll be on the lookout for to try others in the future.
Sometimes it’s not you, it’s the tea. Could have been stale, finicky or just not a good harvest as was the case last year. Good SLX is definitely worth seeking out.
Try less grammage? I’m guessing you may have already tried. Otherwise, I remember that the Misty Mountain was a pretty good Shan Lin Xi. I swore that I tried the one you just wrote about and thought it was too vegetal four years ago, or I at least talked to someone in regards to it recommending the Misty Mountain over it, but I do not see a note on it. Either way, that’s a shame. I used to love Shan Lin Xi’s myself, but they can be a little too savory for me.
You’re note’s comprehensive, btw. :)
I’m not sure less grammage would change it for the better and I have none left to try. It wasn’t that it was overwhelming in any flavors or its savoriness but that the tea seemed jumpy both in mouth and in taste progression. There was no flow with these nuggets. Thanks for the word on Misty Mountain. This definitely hasn’t turned me off from Shanlinxi, so I’ll be on the lookout for to try others in the future.
Sometimes it’s not you, it’s the tea. Could have been stale, finicky or just not a good harvest as was the case last year. Good SLX is definitely worth seeking out.