I tried the 2015 BNS and this one seems a tad more potent. Pretty mid-sized dark olive green leaves are intact and a pleasure to brew in my small-ish gaiwan. There is a fresh forest aroma emitted from the brewed leaves that is floral and savory. Tea soup has a medium thickness, nice clarity, and a darker golden hue.
It’s not complex, but rather unique in it’s flavor profile. At first, I had a difficult time associating “mushroom” with desirable notes in tea, but now I see similarities with the savory sweetness of shiitake mushrooms. As others have described, mint prominent here in both flavor and as a cooling sensation the spreads to the back of the mouth. Andy’s mint thins come to mind, specially in Scott’s 2016 batch where I’ve detected subtle dark chocolate notes together with the mint. Other notes I found were stinging nettles, damp forest moss, and acorn. It’s uniqueness makes for nice break from teas I typically drink.
The cha qi by is noticeable by the 3rd steep. Interesting flavors are consistently present into the 10th or so steeps, becoming even more minty and herbal from steep 5 and 6.
