I drank this one (#22) yesterday with the same method that I used on the Early Spring: lazy man’s gongfu, dumping each of my short gaiwan steeps into a big cup to drink. I will say I let this one steep a bit longer each time than the last one, mostly because I was concerned I wasn’t getting enough out of the leaves. Whether that is to blame for my tasting is unknown (we are talking 10 second instead of 5 second steeps, still increasing by 5 seconds each time, though).
Basically, I found this one to be kind of lackluster, especially in comparison to the Early Spring from the same year. It was less floral, less sweet, less buttery, less spectacular. Way more vegetal. It was a reasonably tasty, fine, servicable cup of tea, but I expect mind blowing from these oolongs. I thought I had some 2013 spring picking, but apparently I only had the early spring picking? I don’t quite know what’s up. Only the 2011 picking is in my ratings. I did have a few different Autumn pickings from previous years, so maybe that’s what I am thinking of. (What do you know, I found my receipt from spring of 2013 and it only has the early spring and the previous year’s autumn pickings)
Anyway, provisional ratings but I will definitely have to try this one again. Equusfell if you are reading this you definitely have to try the early spring (you can come get a sample from me if you want); I hadn’t tried this one and didn’t realize that this picking may not be as great as it should be.
Yup. It was fine, just didn’t blow my mind. And I thought I was crazy! Can my reward for finishing comps be gong fu of ALL THE OOLONGS? My list is just getting longer, dang it!