2013 Xi-Zhi Hao "Xuan Xi" Spring Raw

This is a warm and “springy” tea, and I enjoyed sipping on it. The leaves are large and nicely threaded with a sweet peppery scent along with some creamed honey subtle tangy apricots and peaches. I warmed my yixing up and placed some inside. The aroma thickens with some prickliness to it. I can note crisp fruits of pineapple and peach. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The brew is thick and mild with molasses, fat, and apricot. It’s an enjoyable tea and it grows with some bitterness of crisp apple. The aftertaste and long and lingering with sweet oils. The tea carries some good balance of huigan and kuwei, which is nice. The last steeps cause the tea to become soft and sweet with a very faint bitter of buffalo grass. I liked this tea, but I feel at this price point it should stay in storage.

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This is a very solid tea – both welcoming and encouraging. A fairly young tea although the “greenness” of the leaves that you would find in younger sheng has dissipated. There is a floral and deep honey aroma coming from the dry leaf. Tea liquor is light gold – very clear with a nice sheen to it. The smell from the cup has notes of hay, dried wood, and a light honey. First cup is sweet with a bit of astringency. There is also a slight metal hit coming through in the first brew but this disappeared in the other brews. The taste lightens up in the following infusions to become very smooth with a longlasting finish and no astringency; quite effervescent on the tongue. Now offering an appealing sweetness with fruity overtones and the aroma is both floral and fruity. During the fourth cup I could detect a quiet relaxing qi settling in. Overall the tea is complex enough for me to feel that this is a rich and powerful tea which offers a pleasant worthwhile session and interesting possibilities for aging in the years ahead.