2005 Xinghai Menghai Qi Zi Ripe

This was a fairly moderate Shou. This ripe is a perfect median for me on all grounds of the spectrum. The dry leaf is a good mix of some large and small leaf. The tea gives off a very slight fermented and earth scent, with a little dry dust in there. I placed a decent amount in my warmed gaiwan and shook it up. The warmed aroma was of earth and hot wet soil. I did get a strange earthworm tone (not bad, just peculiar). I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The brew is a dark crimson and pretty clear. The taste is clean and smooth. I didn’t experience any complex tones. The drink was consistently basic. This is a nice daily drinker at best. I don’t believe the Shou has developed any in the best decade; although, it may have calmed down from its younger self. I noted the classic earth, smooth, slightly sweet tones congruent with most Shou. The flavor did not develop. The liquor did last for some time; I was able to pull about ten or so steeping sessions. This was a complete neutral for me. It was a no feeling session.

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Thanks so much to boychik for this sample!

This is a really fabulous Shou! Thick and sweet with some bitter cocoa notes, it coats your mouth with its deliciousness! It’s also long-lasting. I definitely recommend it. I had a nice session in my jian shui pot with the entire 9g sample, and will consider getting a cake next time I order from YS.

This tea is very good. It is one of the best ripes I have had in a while. It is sweet with virtually no earthy flavor left. It has developed a nice flavor that I think is usually called a dates flavor. There is no smoke or camphor or off taste to this tea. It is really good. I am glad I bought the whole bing and not a sample. I steeped this a grand total of twelve times before dumping the leaves because I had had enough tea and was at my daily caffeine limit and then some. But had I wanted to continue I could have gotten a few more good steeps out of this tea. I think it might have gone twenty steeps. It definitely would have gone fifteen. The tea had gotten a little weaker at steep twelve but had not become weak tea yet.

I steeped this twelve times in a 120ml gaiwan with 9.2g leaf and boiling water. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min and 2 min.