This sheng is a funny one – first few infusions remind me of yellow teas and it only brings the familiar Mansa profile in the second half of the session. The leaves also seem browner than what I would expect for a tea 1 year old, although they are brown in a non-uniform way so it is clear that’s not an artifact of aging. Also the liquor has a dark yellow colour with hardly any traces of green. Overall, the tea is mostly lacking in aftertaste, otherwise the price tag of 0.4$/g would be appropriate.
The leaves smell like a wooden cabin when dry and more like fresh hops, lemongrass, marjoram, and nuts after the rinse – which is super savoury, nutty and herbaceous. First proper infusion has a soft, cooling, and sticky moutheel and a strong vegetal bitterness. Hay note is strong here, it is somewhat acidic for a fresh sheng and while it isn’t sweet at all, there are hints of honey sweetness in the finish – a sign of what is to come.
Third steep is already a bit sweet, but also astringent now. The pungency and overall sweetness intensifies from the next one onwards. Nevertheless, there is still some fermentation-like sourness that is reminiscent of yellow teas. There is also a celery root flavour there. On the other side of the peak of the session, the tea is very sweet, floral and woody. The mouthfeel remains quite attention seeking, it is a bit like a smooth sandpaper in the finish but not so dry eventually. The qi is not particularly strong, I mostly noticed a chest warming sensation throughout.
Flavors: Acidic, Astringent, Bitter, Celery, Floral, Herbaceous, Herbs, Honey, Hops, Lemongrass, Nutty, Sour, Sweet, Vegetal, Wood
