2018 Green Hype

Dry leaf- pungent floral notes, deep green.

Quick Rinse…

1st steep- brews a peach/golden color, clear. Aroma is round and floral, but not as pungent as the dry leaf. Some butter notes. Plays on fruity, and bitter notes. Peach and lychee. With a very light taste of copper, I guess minerally would be the way to describe it. Herbs. Green. Some Vanilla notes too. I feel like this one may become sweet. It’s very rich. Very warming.

2nd -Yo! And that is a raw straight to the face! Big floral, green notes. Almost spicy, black pepper notes. Still rich and bold, but all the while, not over bearing, or bitter or astringent. Clover honey. One of those where the aroma really translates to the cup. Robusto. Dry Oregano. Starting to coat the tongue.

3rd – not as nuanced this go around, a tad fruitier, and bitter, balanced. Floral, orchid. Bitterness is coming though more as it cools. Still full bodied. Thick tea.

4th – still brewing strong, a hint of smokiness. Ginger notes too. Enjoying the session so far…it is becoming more focused, but still interesting.

5th – bitterness, still there getting lime, and cilantro notes.

I kinda got interrupted, and horribly over steeped the tea at this point. I figured it wasn’t fair from here on out to continue the review, all in all I think this one is a great candidate for aging. Its complex, and strong, and fortified. I might buy a cake to age. This is one of those big teas, in every aspect…

(I was reviewing the 2019 , and it is similar in flavor profile, just everything up a notch, and green fresh tasting. However, I didn’t take down notes so not going to leave a review. There seems to be a smoke element to the 2019 too. So strong, one of the first teas to hit my stomach , and make me a little nauseous. too strong. However, it confirms that this one might be a good ager…)

My first young Pu-erh! First impression was a wonderful hay scent after rinsing the tea for 5 minutes, and medium sized leaves in various colours. First two steepings (~10 s) were quite tangy, sharp, a bit bitter, but from third steeping onward, the sharpness suddenly decreased, and a nice sweetish taste emerged from underneath. Steepings 3-6 were the best, with a floral, sweet taste, while steeping 7 was quite weak, even though it steeped for quite a while. Overall, I liked it, though it may not be an everyday tea. However, as I said this is my first young raw puerh, so I don’t have much experience.

SIPDOWN 33 and honestly one of the oldest teas of my stash, so actually I should drink it earlier (right Mastress Alita? :D ).

Anyway, I didn’t liked it 2 and something years ago when I wrote a tasting note saying… not for me. My tastebuds certainly improved; but the tea… well, maybe it’s a bit better. Dry stored in little sample for that time. At least, I know how sheng should be like and things like that. Back then, I received a like from derk only and it seems that White Antlers liked it sometime recently. Who knows when…

Oh well, again lots of stories around and not about actual tea.

I am not still a fan of this sheng. Though it has got much less astringency than I remember (maybe shorter steeps…) it is still quite astringent and bitter. And somehow green-herbal. Not drying this time; but honestly it seems somehow simple and basic. No hype for this tea from me.

I have to thank HTene (from r/tea IRC) who sent it my way; and I guess I will reuse the pouch as it’s quite clean; for sending some tea other Steepster users :P

I will keep the rating on 70, it’s pretty much right, for me it is having quite major flaws; but it’s drinkable. Though it is indeed a lots of acquired taste. I am pretty much sure I will like it later, maybe it needs more than 2,5 gram per 125 ml vessel. But that should be watery, shouldn’t it?

This is the first tea that has convinced me there might be a part of me that can enjoy sheng.

The first thing I notice is still the astringency and bitterness I associate with sheng, but it’s much less harsh than I expected. In the first steep I can tell there’s something else there, but it’s a bit hard to decipher.

On the second steep though I start awakening to the other scents and flavors. It leads with freshly baled hay and minerality. As the session continues the tea mellows into a sweetness that is reminiscent of red currants.

The qi doesn’t knock my socks off, but it’s present, powerful, and longer lasting that what I’m used to from shou. It presents to me as calm and mind melting energy that would be equally good for meditation or housework, but makes focused tasks hard.

As I expect from young sheng it’s a bit too harsh on my stomach to be something I could drink daily, but I’m glad to have it in my cabinet as a breath of fresh air and a respite from the world.