Tl;dr
Smokey, light and bright with underlying mild sweetness and creaminess. This one’s a sneaker hours later with its caffeine effects.
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Tonight I chose a tea that I thought would fit the supposed muting characteristics of a pot made of what was sold as benshan duanni clay (I think it’s benshan lüni based on color and texture; that topic may find its way into the Discussion board at another time). My first ever session with fu zhuan tea, and this is a smokey one.
I was unsure of how to prepare it. I put probably a bit over 8 grams in the pot and filled with boiling water to roughly half capacity, 100 maybe up to 120mL and left the lid off to brew based on color. First steep was 45s, followed by 5 more at 30/30/45/60/120s.
The dry leaf smelled like sharp, bitter-dry woodsmoke which transferred over into taste. I couldn’t taste much beyond that, maybe a slight nutty-fruity sweetness, straw and minerals but it was very comforting. The body of the tea was light with some fleeting oiliness and later numbing to the tongue, no astringency, rather smooth. Cooling in the mouth, with the smokiness lingering on the palate. I felt my body relax a little while sipping, with some warmth and heaviness creeping into my limbs. First, I felt that comfort, followed by a sneakier narcotic feeling, then the discomfort of lying in bed halfasleep/halfawake with an overactive mind and thumping heart.
The liquor was always clear, golden turning red later. Not that I was really expecting anything from a first time with a new type of tea, but knowing this is a fermented tea, I was prepared for a dark and potentially murky brew. The dry leaf of the brick was dark and stemmy, while the spent leaf revealed only light fermentation. I did not notice any of the golden flower mold in my chunk off the brick.
Overall, I’d say it’s a pleasant drink with no glaring faults and I’ll enjoy drinking what I have. It is quite smokey, though, so if that’s not your thing I’d steer well clear of this one.
