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The compression was tight and when breaking up the cake, the leaves seemed small. Stems abounded. Five grams into a two ounce gaiwan. The first three steeps of 5s, 10s, and 15s were light. Warm pale honey, a bit of maltose, and some jasmine. The last of these three infusions picked up much more weight, but also a tart metallic quality. There’s more in these leaves, tomorrow.

This tea is excellent. The 25g sample I ordered had big flaky leaves that easily fell of the chunk of beeng I received. Nice long supple leaves on the edges of the cake. The first steeps brought a spicy and woodsy musk out of the gaiwan. Leathery, with golden tobacco, a bit of moss, and plenty of earthy spice. The flavor was similar, but buttery smooth. Velvet on the palate, with just enough astringency in the back of the throat for balance. This tea puts me right in an Alder bog amongst the Balsam Fir trunks, heavy with lichen and moss. A wet late spring morning in a copse of poplars flows into my mind. This is a beautiful tea.

This is a solid, but light, daily drinker green. Gentle chestnut and vanilla aroma, with warm rain. Soup is an even straw gold. Flavor is satisfying, buttery and smooth, with a bit of bamboo shoot and almond. Not overly intense or complex and good for the price. My everyday cup at work.

Based on the reviews of others, I’m fairly sure that my brewing of this tea was inadequate. I didn’t get nearly as richly colored a soup, nor was there really much depth to what I brewed. That being said, I was a bit bummed out. I found the tea a bit shallow. It’s aroma was excellent, however. It showed the bright spicy cedar-wood character that I found in 2007 leaf, but also had a nicely aged caramelized plum towards the end that made it rewardingly balance, at least in scent. I’ll have to work on brewing this tea better, to get better texture and more flavor depth. I’m sure it’s there.

I received the 2007 version of this tea in my recent DanCong sampler. Again, only my second DanCong, so my experiences may be a bit naive. The aroma on this tea is amazing. Rich, deep super spicy cedar wood and roast. Bark, smoke, and pith. In the aroma cup, it just pours out sage, burnt field grasses, and sauna. Wonderful. The soup is much more caramel, grayish brown. The flavor and texture is a bit harder for me to handle. I thought it was touch coarse and bitter right up front, then it smoothes out, gives some of the cedar, a bit of caramel roast, and then a harsh, biting ash character. Light sweetness balances it a little, but the flavor of this tea seemed a bit uneven, which is unfortunate, because the aroma is killer.

Received as a three-DanCong sampler, this tea was actually my first DanCong, so my impressions may not be entirely valid. Regardless, I enjoyed this tea, although the overall flavor seemed a little light. I used around 3grams in my 3oz gaiwan. Started with 20s, 30s, and 40s steeps, then just went by intuition. The aroma was very snappy and complex. A lot of woody spiciness, fresh mums and peonies. The depth of the flavor and aroma held a very creamy super-fresh pink shrimp meat character. A bit of old bay, and creole seasoning popped up in the back of the throat. It gave out around the fourth or fifth steep. Nicely sweet.

This is a great example of what the Da-Yieh cultivar can express as a green tea. There’s lots of honey, raw nuts, and orchid florals. Not as pungent as similar oolongs, but still very expressive and juicy. I wonder if this tea is basket-fired, because it has a distinct, but fleeting, charcoal character in the back of the throat. While this is a delicious tea, in the end, it may be a bit pricey for the overall experience.

This tea is surprisingly light flavored, in my book. I’ve brewed it over a range of suggested times, amounts, and temperatures now and have generally produced very ethereal and flighty tea. It’s got some extremely delicate juicy notes, but never gets particularly rich. The buds look intensely fresh, green and high quality. Bud-only teas from Imperial Court appear to be of the highest quality and freshness. I just wished they’d throw off a slightly more flavorful tea. This tea also seems to give out a touch early. Light on the aroma.

Brewing this tea reminded me that I need to hone my pu-erh skills. The first 5s steep was very juicy, with hints of straw and strong on the pale tobaccos. The 10s, 15s, 20s steeps picked up very brisk dryness across the palate. Not bitter astringency, just parching dryness (I guess a form of astringency). The tobacco held strong. The soup was very orange. I think I need to do a better job of breaking up the cake, letting the boil rest for a breath, and using a bit less tea in my small gaiwan. More steeps over the next two days.