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I don’t like shou and I’ve tried a bunch. Actually I find it to taste boring and one dimensional but the best cha qi I ever got was from the first shou I had. Well, this is fantastic.

Dry leaf smell is leather and dirt. Wet smell is compost, wood and something alluring but faint (I think melon). I just know it smells great. I don’t have a problem with the “dirtiness” of shou but this one is so dang clean.

Taste is clean, creamy, dates, melon with a very noticeable lasting cooling.

Energy is strong but very relaxing at the same time. Perfect for nature and meditation.

I really can’t express enough how fantastic this is…I rush back to the gaiwan

My second try of this tea was very different. I definitely came to my first one with too much expectation….basically “this tea is gonna mess me up!”. And it didn’t. Second time around, I just did my usual routine of drinking on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. There still isn’t a lot going on here with taste but there are other things. It has a TON of cooling (at least thru the first 8 steeps), it reminds me of a light cooked puer but after 5 steeps a slight peachy/apricoty note starts coming thru and there’s a generalized vague but pleasant and lasting aftertaste ( a little like W2T’s 2009 Yiwu). I wouldn’t say it is massive but I def feel relaxed and there’s a psychoactive element to this one. Music sounds very nice.

Anybody who is into puer should have a sample of this, now that I’ve drunk a lot of puer in the last year I can appreciate how unique this one is even though it doesn’t blow me away with tea stoner-ness. A nice one to share with other puer drinkers over a relaxed few hours.

Exactly what Scott describes it as…Kind Spirited. Put me in such a great mood, made me appreciate nature and I had an awesome meditation.

Flavor: Taste is more to sweet slightly smoky side with mango peachy fruity notes rather than usual bitter astringent young sheng. There is substantial and lasting cooling.

Qi: Relaxing and mood elevating (quite substantially)

Flavors: Sweet, fruity, mango

When I added this to my cart I doubted myself. I’ve never drunk black tea.

Well I can’t tell if I’m feeling the qi or just super excited about this tea’s smell and flavor. I love it when I just can’t wrap my head around a tea. I don’t understand how this can smell and taste soooo good. Scott is spot on with the sweet potato description but there’s a roasted sweetness behind it and oh my god the smell of the wet leaf has this tropical fruit/flower (maybe passion fruit ?) note that drives me crazy.

Wow, what an amazing tea. I think it’s got good qi too. I’m sitting here with sun on my feet, listening the birds tweet and need nothing more in life. I remember why I gravitated to this, the sweet potato description. I had read gaba tasted like that and I wanted to try that. Yep I’m relaxed. Off to buy more.

Being a big fan of this, I ordered another bag. Adagio assured me that it would be very similar to my 6mo old bag. It’s a pity they don’t let you order by year like places such as YS and W2T do. On opening and comparing to my first bag it was pretty obviously different. Smaller, finer leaves, didn’t smell as rich.

Flavor: One dimensional shou. Earthy but lacks any depth. Doesn’t get anywhere near as dark. Tastes like lightly colored water. There’s a slightly weird aftertaste that wasn’t there on the first bag.

Qi: there isn’t any. I can’t even tell I’ve had tea. No energy let alone all the other great things from the first bag.

Oh why didn’t I buy pounds of the first bag grr. Lesson learned. Isn’t that one of Two Dog’s tenets?

Just a great tea. The Spring was well reviewed and this is no different. Even the 5 sec rinse I drank had excellent mouth throat feel with some cooling. I’ve been doing like mr mopar and resting 10 minutes after the rinse…liking it, seems like the tea wakes up.

Flavor: Wow, fruity ! Apricot and raisins. Perfect hints of astringency and bitterness. It did get a bit too bitter when I pushed to 60 sec steep too early (4-5 steep). Good cooling and throat feel.

Qi: Relaxing and slightly energizing. Conscious of breathing.

A good cheap example of a slightly aged sheng. Reminded me quite a bit of W2T’s 2009 Yiwu.

Was really expecting to like this one since I love peaty smoke/Islay whiskies. But the smoke on this is more like smoked meat which to me is odd flavors for a tea. But just a personal preference that I don’t like that which is why I still gave it a 70

I like the fact that this has such a different flavor and smell because a lot of my young sheng has similar notes. Also, I find the wild purples just don’t agree with me. The energy/Qi feels chaotic and quite often they mildly turn my stomach. This isn’t a young sheng thing…don’t have this problem with any of those.

This has become one of the young sheng that I most often reach for. Basically it and 2015 Da Qing Gu Shu. It puts me in such a nice mood and doesn’t have a ton of energy (I naturally have enough). I’ve had to go to the dentist twice in the last week and drank it before both times. When you aren’t all that bummed out about 3 hours in a dentist’s chair and you’re still in good spirits afterwards I think that qualifies as a great tea :)

As others have noted, this is a nice counter point to YS’s lovely Da Qing Gu Shu. Beautiful leaf that smells nice but not as amazing and floral as the Da Qing. Wet leaf is really vegetal/skunky smelling (nobody else uses this word…perhaps tobacco is a better term)

Taste – This ones notes are more vegetal (brussel sprouts) although it is mostly noticeable in the first few steeps. It quickly shifts to the jasmine flowers followed by stone fruit aftertaste. The taste gets going super fast with 10-15 sec steeps. Astringency and bitterness are there but just the perfect amount.

Qi – Puts me in a great mood, good energy and relaxation. Just a good all rounder although nothing sticks out particularly and it’s not super strong Qi