Green Menghai Beencha, 1999 357g

Dry Leaf Sweet with floral bitterness.
Wet Leaf Floral bitterness with smoky presence that becomes sweeter and mellow as you smell it.
Liquor golden-yellow that is not bright

Gong Fu in Porcelain Gaiwan 5oz/5g

1st – 2secs Lid smells bittersweet floral with raw sugar sweetness under a thick smoky scent. Liquor, is sweet and smooth with a smoky hint that is very pleasant. A very sweet aftertaste that is also refreshing.

2nd – 2secs Lid smells bittersweet floral with smoky notes that turn sweet. The steep is smoky, sweet and floral with the slightest hint of ‘green’ that is somewhat herbaceous and smooth. As it washes down it is very floral and slightly bitter with some astringency that smooths down as the very sweet aftertaste takes over.

3rd – 3secs Lid is smoky, floral, slightly bitter and sweet. The liquor is bittersweet floral with apparent smokiness. As it washes down it is very floral and slightly herbaceous with some astringency that quickly smooths out. The aftertaste is floral and slowly becomes very sweet and refreshing.

4th – 5secs Lid smells bittersweet floral and strongly smoky that becomes sweeter. The liquor is bittersweet floral with strong smokiness that wears astringency and some bitterness. As it washes down the astringency smooths down and becomes floral in taste. The aftertaste is floral and sweet and becomes sweeter and refreshing.

5th – 7secs Lid smells sweet, smoky and floral with some bitterness. The liquor, is bittersweet floral with apparent smokiness that wears some astringency but quickly becomes smoother. The aftertaste is very floral and lingers longer before becoming very sweet and refreshing.

6th – 9secs Lid smells slightly cleaner and sweet with smoky and floral notes. The liquor is smoky, slightly less floral/bitter with some astringency. As it washes down it becomes smoother with floral and sweet notes. The aftertaste is lingering floral and smoky but becomes very sweet over time.

7th – 13secs Lid smells sweet and smoky with some floral notes. The liquor is bittersweet floral, smoky ans sweet with some astringency. As it washes down it becomes smooth once again but becomes sweeter rather than floral, although floral notes are still present. The aftertaste is very sweet and refreshing.

8th – 16secs Lid smells sweet, almost fruity with some smoky and floral notes. The liquor is cleaner at first and quickly turns sweet and smoky with subtle floral notes. As it washes down is more floral than initially and maintains its sweetness. The aftertaste is very sweet and very refreshing.

Final Notes
I did 12 steeps of this tea which I enjoyed very much. I was told must people do 6-8 and I think I know why. That is the range where the floral bitterness and smokiness start to fade. I’m not sure this is a good reason for me to stop steeping specially since it maintains its sweetness and I can’t explain how refreshing this tea is. I love it, I already took a layer off the cake to keep at work, the rest is strictly gong-fu at home.