2007 Dayi Gongting Qingbing (Palace Green)

This gongting cake is wonderfully fragrant. I brewed it up in a 100ml gaiwan, using water just off the boil, and very quick flash steeps. The warm leaf is soothingly sweet and floral. After giving the leaves a quick rinse, I took a whiff of the lid. The aroma was the most pungently floral (in a good way, but WOW powerful) orchid and honey smell. The tea soup was silky smooth, and had some wonderful bitterness up front. This tea produces a very strong huigan. A wonderful aftertaste of honey/honeysuckle stayed afterward for a very long time. I am a big fan of long lasting fragrances. I must say that while I don’t know exactly how long all of these teas have been stored with John in Guangzhou, I must say that I am a fan. Similarly aged teas from kunming (which I am also a huge fan of) while very floral, aren’t quite as smoothed out as John’s GZ storage appears to be. This same cake stored even dryer might be a wonderful experience, but I might caution a few more years to round it out. Dayi’s gongting qingbing is a bombshell of fragrance. I wouldn’t say for me this is a daily drinker, but something I want to visit often.