My struggles with winter unfortunately continue. The temperatures plummeted and what started as an icy mix of precipitation gave way to a freak snowstorm that settled in yesterday and blanketed the area. By any realistic measure, 3 inches of snow isn’t much, but when you live out in the sticks where infrastructure is poor, it’s enough to seriously ruin your day. My internet and phone have both been touch and go and the roads are too treacherous to drive anywhere. I’ve been stuck at home for the better part of three days now. If anything good has come of this situation, I have been able to spend a lot of time with my cats and polish off some more tea samples. This was one of my more recent sipdowns. I know that many Southeast Asian teas tend to get a bad rap, but I found this to be a very good one. In all honesty, I found it to be better than some of the Taiwanese Jin Xuans I have tried.
I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was chased by 13 subsequent infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes.
Prior to the rinse, I detected aromas of cream, butter, and vanilla underscored by hints of violet and hyacinth. After the rinse, I found emerging scents of custard, sugarcane, and lilac underscored by a hint of citrus. The first infusion brought out strong floral scents. The violet, lilac, and hyacinth were still there, but were joined by hints of daylily and honeysuckle. In the mouth, the liquor offered notes of cream, butter, vanilla, and sugarcane that gave way to hints of custard, violet, and hyacinth before a somewhat grassy, vegetal finish. Subsequent infusions brought out stronger notes of hyacinth, violet, and grass. The notes of daylily and honeysuckle started to appear in the mouth too. New impressions of orange zest, minerals, bamboo shoots, daylily shoots, green apple, lettuce, and pear also started to appear. The later infusions were dominated by notes of cream, butter, grass, and lettuce balanced by subtler notes of minerals, sugarcane, and vanilla. On a couple of the later infusions, I was just barely able to pick up some lingering, almost ghostly floral qualities.
This was a very rich, sweet, smooth, and satisfying Jin Xuan. Compared to several Taiwanese Jin Xuans I have tried fairly recently, this was more complex, more durable, better textured, and less vegetal. I could see this tea making an excellent introduction to the Jin Xuan cultivar or a great daily drinker for established fans.
Flavors: Bamboo, Butter, Cream, Custard, Floral, Grass, Green Apple, Honeysuckle, Lettuce, Mineral, Pear, Sugarcane, Vanilla, Vegetal, Violet
