Last one from the Sheng and Shou TTB. This is the loose leaf version, but I didn’t want to create a new “tea” for this note.
Brewed gongfu-style with a ceramic gaiwan. Used enough leaf to fill half the gaiwan. 10 second rinse. Steeping times: 5, 8, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120.
Despite being an autumn sheng, spring is in the dry leaf, which smells of flowers, notably hyacinths, and a newly mowed lawn. The wet leaf aroma reminds me of leafhopper oolongs. Purely stonefruit after the rinse, and then i becomes richly jam-like.
The liquor is a clear pale gold. Slightly thick texture. Light-bodied. Bright personality. Uplifting yet calming feel. The first couple infusions resemble white tea. Airy feel, tastes of field grass. Beginning with the third infusion, this becomes more sheng-like – sweet grass and asparagus notes appear. Infusions eight and nine are fruitier, very fruity. Plum lingers in the mouth long after the very last sip.
The dry leaf is something to admire. I think this is my first sheng in which the leaves are so long, unbroken and full. They’re also lovely in color and texture.
Preparation
People who liked this
Comments
I was just thinking that I was hoping to see more reviews coming from the TTB, then when I went to my dashboard I saw this. Cheered me up!
@Dr Jim – I am about to start digging into the ones I took from it and will be posting in the next week
Woohoo! Too bad it’s my last one :P
You should have taken more!
I shouldn’t throw any stones. I have a lot of trouble writing reviews of pu-erh. Seems like everything tastes of wood or tobacco. I read these reviews of various fruits, but I have real trouble seeing it. I think my palate isn’t refined enough.
You should write Dr Jim. Took me long time but I found practice/drinking it brought me along.
I didn’t have enough in my stash to replace what I took, but I’ll have more the next round for sure!
The first time I drank sheng – from Verdant, two years ago – it tasted like bitter dry grass. I was totally turned off. I’ve been reading people’s notes over the past few months and the fruit notes they tasted made me too curious to pass on trying more sheng. The amount I’ve been drinking of late escalated because of the box. I guess my palate evolves rapidly. I’m still getting grass or hay or tobacco (blurgggh) but I’m getting there. I liked shou right away, and I’m slowly coming to like sheng. And I like the qi that comes drinking it. It’s like a clearer “tea tipsy” compared to what shou causes.
I’ve done one of the teas I took, and I plan to do more this week. I didn’t want to spend too much more time with the box since it sat there unopened for so long while I was sick. I just jumped in, picked a handful out and sent it on its way.
That’s pretty much what everyone did. I figured with pu-erh, people use so much for a pot that it made sense to just take one sample. For the next circuit I intend to ask people how that worked out and whether it makes more sense to let people take all they want. The up-side is that the box is just flying around the country. We’ve had 8 people have the box in only 40 days, which has to be some kind of TTB record.
I was just thinking that I was hoping to see more reviews coming from the TTB, then when I went to my dashboard I saw this. Cheered me up!
@Dr Jim – I am about to start digging into the ones I took from it and will be posting in the next week
Woohoo! Too bad it’s my last one :P
You should have taken more!
I shouldn’t throw any stones. I have a lot of trouble writing reviews of pu-erh. Seems like everything tastes of wood or tobacco. I read these reviews of various fruits, but I have real trouble seeing it. I think my palate isn’t refined enough.
You should write Dr Jim. Took me long time but I found practice/drinking it brought me along.
I didn’t have enough in my stash to replace what I took, but I’ll have more the next round for sure!
The first time I drank sheng – from Verdant, two years ago – it tasted like bitter dry grass. I was totally turned off. I’ve been reading people’s notes over the past few months and the fruit notes they tasted made me too curious to pass on trying more sheng. The amount I’ve been drinking of late escalated because of the box. I guess my palate evolves rapidly. I’m still getting grass or hay or tobacco (blurgggh) but I’m getting there. I liked shou right away, and I’m slowly coming to like sheng. And I like the qi that comes drinking it. It’s like a clearer “tea tipsy” compared to what shou causes.
I’ve done one of the teas I took, and I plan to do more this week. I didn’t want to spend too much more time with the box since it sat there unopened for so long while I was sick. I just jumped in, picked a handful out and sent it on its way.
That’s pretty much what everyone did. I figured with pu-erh, people use so much for a pot that it made sense to just take one sample. For the next circuit I intend to ask people how that worked out and whether it makes more sense to let people take all they want. The up-side is that the box is just flying around the country. We’ve had 8 people have the box in only 40 days, which has to be some kind of TTB record.