2018 Spring "Wildwood" Raw Puerh

From the CLT samples I got, Wildwood is one of my favourites. It is quite a green and floral sheng with a very soft and comforting mouthfeel, good huigan and interesting cha qi.

Its aroma is fairly light and standard. I can smell notes of cilantro, stewed kale, butter and steamed milk throughout the session. The taste starts out peppery and floral with muted bitterness and a mild sage flavour. Then it develops into a sour, grassy and crisp profile with floral sweetness in the finish and hints of dandelion. Over time, the astringency naturally appears, but it never becomes overpowering. The aftertaste is slightly salty, buttery, and quite long lasting and drying.

The best aspects of this tea, however, are its texture and the cha qi. It has a full body and very soft and smooth mouthfeel. The energy can be felt almost immediately. My limbs were trembling, my sensations and perceptions heightened and my body was filled with a comforting warmth.

One thing that I am slightly unsure about with respect to this tea is how it will age. It does seem more green than other sheng I have encountered, which might or not pose a problem in the long term. However, that’s not something I can really assess with my lack of experience.

Winner for 2018 Sheng. Has a wholesome nourishing quality and the high is so very pleasant. I don’t feel like I have to pay close attention to this tea to get a great amount of enjoyment from it. That’s kinda the magic of it. It just feels good and quiets your mind and takes you somewhere else. It’s some astringent and not very bitter which is the opposite of how I prefer a tea but I don’t mind. It more than makes up for that in the feels.

This tea and I have a strong connection. I have an affiniTEA for this tea. Very well balanced flavors. The Cha Qi is where this tea shines in my opinion though. At one point in the session I felt like my head was expanding and my skull had enlarged 5 times its original size. This is a must try from Crimson Lotus.

This tea drinks for me simply awesome. I think it could be taken as a simple profile. However, I think it’s magic is in what it doesn’t do. It doesn’t hit you over the head with all these, flavors, and scents. It does however just have that mmmhhmmm quality to it. It stays just enough out reach to keep you coming back and wondering. A lot of green forest character to it, and for me some lychee / pear sweetness in the background. Hard to get a lot of bitterness from the tea however you do tip toe on some astringent flavors on the long steeps, but still a super clean tea. Just plain intriguing. I want this as a daily, but it deserves an occasion. With the pricing, it will have to be too.