Something I’ve noticed, is the cake is not pressed as tightly as some other offerings from CLT. So it seems to use larger chunks of tea, as it seems to be lighter, and fluffier than others. The cake I have is also short a few grams which is a bummer since the tea does not go as far. Beautiful cake! Really nice attention to wrapping, and artwork. Affordable too.
Steep 1 -4
Brews a golden yellow. Fairly Clear.
Soft, medium bitterness, cucumber skin, zucchini.
Salty. Slightly Floral. Subtle apricot sweetness in the background. Vanilla. Bitterness kicking in on second steep. Light acidity, apple like. green apple core flavors.
Steep 5-8
Bitterness and astringency is starting to mellowing. Pear, lychee sweetness, starts to come forward. Interesting apple, acidity, sweetness as well continues. Tea continues to brew strong with flash steeps and is very potent, and assertive. You can brew this fro sure into the double digits, if you can hang in there that long.
All in all, a solid sheng, however age will help this. I see it becoming a phenomenal tea in 5 years, or more. Its age brews away after a few steepings, and it is vibrant as ever. Very easy to oversteep I think. I don’t like to play with temps much, but it might be interesting to brew with cooler temps to see the results. I f you like big shengs, and bitterness, this is a winner for sure. A big bold, tea, that should reap some great results with age. Not to mention an affordable sheng as well.
Flavors: Apple, Apple Skins, Astringent, Bitter Melon, Dandelion, Drying, Floral, Gardenias, Green, Salty, Vanilla, Zucchini
