1980's Tong Qing Hao Tea Cake

4g in Gaiwan.

Dry leaf: Very dark. Loose compression.
Wet leaf: Bird cage, pigeon loft, chicken hut, subdued wet-dog, church (old, dusty, bird cage).
The rinse was dark brown.

Summary: An interesting tea with a church-like flavour that is long lasting, in the number of brews and the after taste.

5s – Liquor is medium brown. It tastes old like a church; subdued raw beetroot skin. It has a good body and a good bite for a tea as old as this. Nice, interesting, complex finish.

I rest the leaves for about 20 minutes.

10s – Liquor is darker brown. Syrupy sweetness on the front of the tongue, bird cage / chicken hut in the body, which intensifies; on the swallow there is a lingering syrupy sweetness and more of the bird cage / chicken hut. It has a good action in the mouth, with the sweetness and body intensifying and thick’ish syrupy liquor. It makes me feel calm.
15s – Dark brown liquor. There is a sweet / bitter friction in the mouth action. It is very smooth and well rounded. It raises you up. No astringency.
20s – Lesser dark brown. It has a good bite. It is lively in the mouth, with the syrupy sweetness. This tea is the Jazz tune that is cool, has a good deep beat and the solo infuses with the rest of the music, giving a muddy, laid back combination. For example: ‘Samba De Uma Mota So’ on the album Jazz Samba by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd.
25 – This tea has had some humid storage. Raw beetroot has arrived. It’s possibly that the syrupy sweetness has opened up and transformed. This tea is now showing signs of 90s Hong Kong storage by White2Tea. If you like that tea, I recommend you give this a try.
30s – A strong, old bookshelf, mustiness is showing. Swirling this tea around the mouth shows a variety of old flavours. Interesting; and it is interesting what I paid my money to find.
40s – Dark brown liquor. More of before.
1 minute – More of before; good stuff. Slightly astringent.
14 minutes – Stronger.

Eager to sample this tea, I couldn’t wait any longer. I use about 5 grams in my 85 mL 1970s Dai Cao Qing Factory 1 teapot – reserved for teas with age, A >=20 years. The wet leaves produce an aroma that brings spices, wet wood and some chocolate to mind – slightly different from the 60s GYG. The soup can be a little thicker in the mouth but offers a very nice hui gan and pleasant sweetness that is accompanied by notes of earth, wood and perhaps black licorice? Nice qi that seems to be bringing me into a state of bliss. Pretty nice tea.