The main characteristics of this tea are fruity, herbaceous, mineral and alcohol like. Personally, I didn’t get much butter out of it. It has some bitterness and astringency like one would expect from a Dan Cong, but it’s not overwhelming.
The wet leaf smell reminds me of an alpine meadow in its floral and herbal realm, with some fruity (mostly peach & nectarine) aromas on top. Taste is tart, juicy and mineral overall. There are notes of dry grass, lavender, apricot and pear skin. There is also a strong herbaceous aspect to it that reminds me of Provence. The aftertaste is very long, floral and drying. It doesn’t present many new notes, but they come in different combinations. I found it somewhat sour and reminiscent of peach and lavender for the most part.
Liquor is medium bodied, soft and smooth. Not as thick as some other Dan Cong oolongs, which makes it easier to drink I guess.
Overall, this tea is VERY similar to Zhong Ping “Jasmine Aroma” from YS. So much so, that I am not sure I would be able to discern them unless drunk side by side. This one is surely more fruity, otherwise, the qualities are very comparable, both in terms of character and how enjoyable it is. However, the difference is that the YS one is less than half the price. It’s a great tea (I am a sucker for Dan Cong, mind), but I would take the Jasmine Aroma from YS anytime over this though, given the price difference.
Flavors: Alcohol, Apricot, Astringent, Bitter, Cactus Flowers, Dry Grass, Floral, Herbaceous, Lavender, Mineral, Peach, Pear, Pleasantly Sour, Smooth, Stonefruit, Tart
Based off of those darker fruit notes, sounds like this has oxidized further over the years. I was indifferent to this one, too.
No butter?! That’s a tragedy with a name like that. The flavour list order of “biting, bitter, bitter melon” drive the point home further though, lol.
Well, the flavor list always arranges all the inputs in alphabetical order, which maybe makes those things seem more prominant than they were. I had a really awful first infusion, and the rest was fine.
Yeah, the alphabetical order doesn’t do a great job capturing what’s actually most prominent (wasn’t changing this, or the ingredients list, in the works?). In this unique instance, it conveys (by chance) the tea profile’s evolution throughout the session, mirroring your detailed tasting note well. :)