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I must have used too much leaf on my first tasting occasion with this tea. I basically dumped all the loose bits out of the package and it was clearly more than I needed. Today I used a far more modest amount and while greatly softened, I think I could use even less and still have a strong, mellow cup.

One thing I’m beginning to discover with sheng is that most of the time it is less about differences in flavors and more about how directly and rapidly the tea impacts my chi.

This tea has a very long finish and a very thick mouth feel which results in sensation on the tongue which drives the movement of energy around the body (there is a significant meridian at the roof of the mouth which is activated by pressing the tongue against it — this also ensures breathing through the nose which is more efficient).

Anyone else have experience with sheng where the flavor profiles are quite divergent?

Another tea from sample round #3

The dry leaf smells like a shoe store verging on a sneaker shop. Sneakers have that odd smell akin to “new car smell” but particular to themselves. This isn’t a bad smell for an aged tea. It is close enough to the leathery aromas of a shoe shop that it makes the tea quite inviting.

Because this is loose leaf, not a tuocha, the first steeping happens very, very fast. My cup is almost as dark as my daily drinker “wang pu er” from Upton.

But the flavor profile is quite different. Some of the sweetness of the golden buds remains behind all this musty shoe leather. There is a short finish with solid astringency, almost like an Assam. I’ve never had that in a shou pu er before.

If you like quick and easy shou tea, but lament the way in which they all seem to eventually taste the same, give this one a try, it has some genuinely unique notes.

Another tea in sample set #3

The flavor profile here is more like a da hong pao than black tea, which is interesting. I’m into my third steep of 5 pearls in my 4oz gaiwan and the leaves are finally fully open. This tea has excellent texture, mouth feel and finish, but so far the flavor is a bit soft. I’m curious if I’m not using enough leaf or if perhaps this tea simply prefers Western style steeps.

I will use the remainder of the sample to do a Western style and compare results.

Round 3 of Tea Vivre samples begin!

First, I want to acknowledge that many people were concerned about the double packaging of samples in the past and they have listened. This set arrived in individual packages which were grouped together into a single outer sealed pouch. Much less packaging but still a dedication to freshness. So thank you for that!

This is a much bolder LS than I usually drink (Upton’s Black Dragon). And since I have defended the black dragon’s refined notes in contrast to most LS, one might assume that I would therefore be less interested in this leaf.

But as it turns out, this leaf has a lot going for it. There is no sharpness here, in spite of the bold flavors. There is also no “meatiness” which is my primary opposition to most LS with bold smoke.

While I don’t think this would replace black dragon as my “daily drinker” I do think it may be replace black dragon in my “jim john’s blend” trio of teas.

I had this again today, and while I love the flavor, it stands as a great lesson in understanding great tea.

Compared to the golden fleece, the flavor here is certainly comparable. Maybe even better, depending on which notes you prefer.

But flavor isn’t everything and in every other way, the golden fleece shines far and away superior. More complex mouth feel and texture and length of finish and all those things we forget until they aren’t there.

I have to confess that, lately, the early steepings of sheng have been very overwhelming for me. I find myself kind of wincing through them to get to the more accessible steepings that come later.

This seems like the wrong attitude to have when enjoying a 2004.

That being said. This liqueur actually seems to mellow just by allowing it to rest in the cup for a few moments.

The resinous tang of rosemary is here, and there are suggestions of softer, warmer things to come in later steeps (I’m on #3 now).

I am hesitant to rate this tea until I’ve prepared it on more than one occasion. I find the more tea I drink, the less comfortable I get with the whole numeric system idea.

I’m always amazed at green teas that are so sharply, deeply, assertively vegetal as wet leaf but which produce thick, soft cups.

This is one of those teas.

Suger snap peas. Fresh from a garden, not the store. Maybe just a bit over-ripe, a bit of the sugar has gone bitter, but that’s what makes them nutritious, right?

The color of this liqueur is fantastic in my pale green gaiwan with the emerald koi around the edges.

The wet leaf here actually has a very similar aroma to the golden fleece, but sharper. You know this is going to be black tea, not red.

My wife just handed me a square of Theo 70% chocolate with orange and I’m trying to get that off my palate more thoroughly before I start insisting that this tea has notes of bitter cacoa and orange zest ;-)

That being said, the two pair remarkably well. This tea lacks the long, lingering sweetness of the dian hong, but it has a thick mouth feel and does linger, although not nearly as long.

This is a truly excellent black tea. Something like a fig reduction over lamb — a risk, too easily off the rails but so fantastic if the balance is just right.

I suspect this is a tea that can very easily be mis-steeped.

I think the best thing I can do is compare this with the Yunnan Rare Grade leaf distributed by Upton Teas that I’ve been drinking for the past few months.

Everything about that tea is huge and bold and fruity sweetness.

By contrast, the golden fleece is more refined. Yes, the dry leaf aroma is big, and I’ve already waxed very poetic about the wet leaf. But at the same time, the actual notes themselves aren’t as … sticky.

Instead of syrupy sweet roasted fruit, this is more of the kind of caramel scents you get off a toasted bread that awakens the sugars in the bread or fresh baked honey top bread.

Molasses instead of honey.

The cup is also more refined. There is no astringency whatsoever. But rather than this making the cup sweeter, it somehow stretches that sweetness out rather than over the course of 5 to 20 seconds, more like 5 to 20 minutes. The flavors from the cup have been rolling around my mouth all morning even though I’m only on my fifth steeping after about two and a half hours.

Unlike other Yunnan gold, this tea retains more of the kind of roasted, toasted flavor one gets from the leaf into the cup. But again, very subtle.

The key with this tea really is the way it lingers. Be sure to only drink this when you have the time to let it stay with you and to be present with it.

I guess I’ll be the first civilian foolish enough to talk about this tea.

As soon as you unseal the bag and get that heady aroma that’s been trapped in there, you know you’re in for something different.

I actually got out a kitchen scale, weighed my gaiwan, and then weighed in David’s recommended gram of leaf per fluid ounce of the vessel.

Uncharacteristic of myself, I even gave the leaves a rinse so that I could ensure the first steeping I drank came off “awake” leaves.

The aroma off the wet leaves will leave you speechless. It is like that sensation you get when you walk into a humidor. I don’t mean the tea smells like cigars, although, to some extent I think perhaps it does, what I mean is that there is a particular physical sensation that goes beyond smell, when you walk into the damp, close, still, thickly scented air of a humidor. And smelling this tea leaf once wet, is like that.

With the first steep I understand what Geoffrey and David have been describing in terms of texture. Drinking this tea reminds me of the sensation one gets in the mouth after engaging in wuji qigong for the better part of an hour. There is at the same time a thickness of the mouth but your mouth is watering at the same time. I’ve now been typing, and taking a conference call, and haven’t sipped the tea for perhaps ten minutes and my sinuses are still registering all the aromas and tingling sensations and my mouth is still watering and thick.

I can actually feel the small heavenly circle flowing rapidly and if I were to stand up and correct my posture, I suspect the grand heavenly circle would open up almost immediately.

My ears are ringing.

I actually need to wait a few steeps to even begin using adjectives to describe the aromas off the leaf or the cup or the flavors from the liqueur. Neither my mouth nor my brain are entirely awake right now and I know that strictly speaking neither is this tea. So, expect a follow up later today with all kinds of pretentious wine tasting words in it.