[Spring 2018 harvest]
This is a green tea for young sheng lovers. It has a thick and full bodied liquor, complex profile and it can withstand high temperatures very well too. Even the dry leaf aroma is a bit like raw pu-erh. I can smell stewed fruits, meadow, honey, nuts and wheat. Once hit with water, the smell is more savoury with hints of meat and popcorn later on. In the empty cup on the other hand, flowery tones dominate.
The taste has unusually bitter onset for a green tea, even if brewed at lower temperatures. There is very little of astringency though, unless you push the temperature over 90 degrees. The taste profile is vegetal with notes of cabbage, celery, grapefruit, grilled vegetables and green pepper. It has hints of smoke and a sweet finish. Aftertaste is very crisp and tart and characterized by a strong huigan. It is a touch drying, especially in the throat. I found it to be quite herbal and displaying more of vegetable notes like bok choy and cauliflower.
The tea definitely doesn’t disappoint in the mouthfeel department either. It is smooth, mouth-watering, coating and slimy.
This ranks among my favourite green teas for sure, but it’s by no means a standard green tea. I recommend you to try out various brewing methods and parameters for this tea. Not only it is versatile, but that way you can explore its many facets. You can even try pu-erh like parameters. The bitterness will be strong, but I find that it transforms quickly, just like in a good sheng.
Flavors: Bitter, Bok Choy, Celery, Flowers, Grapefruit, Green Pepper, Honey, Meat, Nuts, Popcorn, Smoke, Smooth, Stewed Fruits, Sweet, Tart, Thick, Vegetables, Vegetal, Wheat
