Old Bush Mi Lan Xiang 老枞蜜兰香 2019

Gongfu Sipdown (1459)!

Thank you Togo for this sample! I don’t drink a ton of dancong in general, but when I do I tend to really prefer ones like this that have such sweet and syrupy notes of lychee and plums. The later steeps seemed to pick up in terms of roastedness as well, almost giving the affect of a grilled lychee! I didn’t take great notes while having this session so much of the nuance has been lost, but know that I really enjoyed the deeper character of this tea and over the course of the several steeps I brewed it was very lovely! In fact, it’s probably almost a good sign that there weren’t a ton of things that stood out about it to me.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CTcZpBzA96E/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q94u6vCgcdE&ab_channel=sixteenandsomething

Wuyi Origin’s MLX is more bitter and woody than average I’d say. It’s really nice, one of the most memorable things about it is the very sweet and long-lasting aftertaste.

When dry, the aroma is fairly standard, but also very pungent. You get stone fruits, honey, pumpkin seeds mix there. The tea remain fragrant throughout the session, with notes like vanilla, green pepper, and flax flowers present in the wet leaf aroma.

The mouth-watering liquor is juicy and has a vegetal bite to it. There is a quinine-like bitterness as well as mild woody sweetness. At times, I also get a peppermint note in the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is generally warming, bubbly and a little chalky, while the cha qi is of the sedating/defocusing kind.