I drank this twice in the last two days – once in a porcelain gaiwan and again in a Jianshui pot. The smell of the dry leaf isn’t super impressive, mostly dark chocolate with lots of undercurrents going on that I couldn’t make out. Wet, more aromas come out – dark chocolate with a bright cherry medicinal note. The tea soup also carries a very strong aroma. The leaves are also super burly, probably the most impressive I’ve seen in a shou. Glen recommends 2-4 rinses for this at the moment but I did one for 10 seconds and besides a faint off flavor in the first cup it was fine. The off flavor wasn’t even unpleasant. The first infusions are slightly bitter with a very strong sweet mineral aftertaste. The flavors are very complex and hard to describe but there is a cherry medicinal note that dominates the session and like I said in my first tasting of this it is nothing like cough syrup. I also occasionally get cinnamon like spice notes. The mouthfeel is very nice, super oily and lubricating with a mint like cooling sensation. The qi is also very intense like a young sheng. Honestly, my only possible complaint is price but what can you do about that? I think that if you are willing to pay that much for a tea period, that this is more than worth it especially if you are really into shou like myself.
Flavors: Cherry, Medicinal, Pumpkin Spice, Wood
