2012 Spring Bada Shan Raw Tuo

This is an interesting tea. Highly compressed tuo, so it was hard to get good leaves off of it. It had strong tobacco notes and a good amount of astringency and bitterness, with some green flavor to it. Not bad, but I think this is one that could use more tine aging. I think it is in an awkward spot for age where it’s still green but has strong aged flavors. Need some of that to mellow out and meld together.

This one has been in my storage for a while now, but hasn’t gotten a tasting note.

The tuo is very fragrant coming out of the box. Brews up a light yellow-orange. Fairly balanced sweet and savory, but leaning more towards sweet. Slightly green pine and wood notes with a light melon fruityness and floral aroma. Very clean tasting and somewhat mineral. There is some bitterness, but fairly mild for how heavily I leafed it. It has a strong, lingering aroma in the mouth and throat. Overall its pretty nice, especially considering the price. The only bad thing I have to say about this tea is that the mouthfeel is rather thin; none of the thick, oily quality often found in nicer sheng.

Edit: later steeps got thicker. While I strongly prefer cakes to tuos, this is really nice for the price.