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Well, I think this is my favorite black tea….it is amazingly complex, but very subtle, so one has to give it time and attention to really get everything from it. That said it is also a nice sipping tea if you don’t want to think that much about it. VEry much like a Wuyi yancha in character.
Nose; honey, sweet florals — violets, clover, cocoa, sandalwood ( very light ), vanilla, mushrooms, leaf mould, forest after a rain — ozone.
Palate; Very interesting , slightly full mouth and throat but not as much as say a Dian Hong, clover, alfalfa hay, vanilla, oak moss, mushroom, sassifrass, honey, ginseng, huckleberry, and a somewhat mineral character.
Yeah all of that is there and probably more!

While I found this tea a bit one dimensional, it has some very nice flavors.
Nose; strawberries, peaches, floral — plumeria, nice " round " aroma.
Palate; Peaches, sugar, nectarine, slight ginger, slight sweet orange.

While I like the Verdant version of this one a bit better, this one is less than half the price.
Nose; Lots of fruit, apricots, dried fruit, prunes, sweetness and a light mineral note.
Palate; As nose, lots of dried fruits, slight vegetal note, but I can’t quite place it, light floral notes — osmanthus.

I have already review this one under the yunnan sourcing ( not us ) category. I found it a nice tea, nice to sip when I don’t have to think much about the tea I am drinking.

This is a pretty typical red tea with a couple of nice twists.
Nose, there are honey and slight malt notes, but with longer steeping there is also mushroom, earth, and red wine with a slight salty note.
Palate, honey, sugar, light brothy flavor, humus, it can be steeped for a very long time without any tannic notes or bitterness.

I am astonished by how many flavors at tea have show! This one is really nice. On the nose it has some roasted flavor, this should indicate that it will keep well, also light gardenia, light cinnamon — really cinnamon, I guess the name says it all, some mineral notes and very light spinach. Palate, round, light floral and mineral notes — lime stone, slightly sweet sugar and cinnamon toast! slightly vegetal and just a touch of tannin. If you like cinnamon, try this!

I found this tea more interesting that the other wild offering from YS. On the nose I get mushrooms, sweet potato, malt, cocoa, slight spice ( allspice ), tree bark, oak moss. Palate; Tangy with some tannin on front of tongue, allspice, wildflower honey, oakmoss, slight mushroom, slight bitter note, settles down nicely after second steeping.

I find this JJM similar to Verdant’s reserve JJM. On the nose I get sweet potato, malt, brussel sprouts, a bit of cocoa. Palate; full mouth feel, tangy, earthy, honey, sweet potato, woody. Interesting. Try gong fu style to tease out the flavors.

I also got a somewhat over roasted note, though that might it a good to keep for a year or two to see what happens. Nose; slight smoke, dried fruits, lightly sweet and mineral character, leaf is smaller too and darker. Palate; as nose, slight vegetal note, very light floral note.

OK, so I have looked at others notes for this tea in other years, and I don’t know if 2016 was that much better, but I definitely give it a very high rating! I found this tea rich and complex. Nose; Peaches, rich, soup like, slight blood orange, melon, plantain, buckwheat, walnut, allspice. On the palate, it has an interesting beef consumee ( not sure if I spelled that right ) like base from which arise flavors like peaches, walnuts, buckwheat, strawberry, with just enough tannin to give it backbone, wonderful full mouth feel, holds up over at least 7 steepings. I think it is unusual for this type of tea so it might not be for everyone, but if you like different, try this one.