2005 Tai Yue

Didn’t realize I’ve already tried this before from when they gave me a sample with my order. No wonder the taste seemed so familiar. The remaining sample I own has been w me for a few years from when LP offered his big WS sampling some years ago

5.4g, 90 mL ZZZ, 212f filtered tap
wet leaf: BBQ, wood chip, smoky, barnyard
1. woody, very smoky, sweet on edges and finish like apple skin. Bit of the Wistaria storage note as well that I don’t know how to describe, I’ve seen “briny” online, but recognizably WS storage)
2. similar, apple taste is stronger
3. pushed a bit. a leafy mushroom taste, something floral in throat
tea overall is gentle, not much depth here for feeling (kind of similar to less popular WS shengs, like the light bit of a mood boost from caffeine maybe?), but for 0.36/g sample can’t complain. Would I cake though, probably not. 200g (iirc) cake price was roughly $100 USD back in 2022, maybe more now + whatever their expensive shipping is.
4. minty mushroom leaf taste. slight sweetness
5. kill steep. something bitter in finish, but does not really resolve or transform

Obviously certain Wistaria cakes get far more press than the lesser known ones like this one, but until the finish this is not bad. I have no idea how the ending bitterness will age, but as-is I’m happy to drink through the rest of my sample which i can’t say is true for every tea I sample