To my knowledge, this is the last of my Yunnan Sourcing teas from 2015. I opened it a few months ago and have been surprised by its inconsistency. In some sessions I get dark chocolate with a hint of raspberry, while in others I get stewed fruit and malt. For this review, I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 7, 10, 13, 17, 20, 25, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.
The first couple steeps have notes of malt, tannins, minerals, and creamy raspberry. My initial impression is of a generic Chinese tea, but it’s mellower and a bit fruitier. The fruit really comes through in the next few rounds, resembling raspberries and other tart berries. There’s also some roasted barley. After the fifth steep, the berries recede and malt, roasted barley, honey, tannins, and leather take over. The session fades into minerals, vegetables, tannins, and malt.
As other reviewers have mentioned, this tea might not have been great when young but has improved with age. The unusual raspberry and mellow flavours make it interesting, although I would have preferred some chocolate in the mix. I’m down to my last few sessions with this, and I can’t help wondering if I’ll miss all my old teas now that they’re almost gone.
Flavors: Berries, Creamy, Honey, Leather, Malt, Mineral, Raspberry, Roasted Barley, Tannin, Vegetal
