Thanks to Daylon for sending me this tea! I have a couple of Wang’s competition teas in my museum archives, but this sample is the first one I’ve tried. Like Daylon, I was tempted to get this tea instead of the Competition Shan Cha I eventually bought, but I worried the roast would be too heavy. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml pot using boiling water for 50, 40, 55, 70, 90, 120, 150, 180, and 240 seconds, plus some uncounted steeps.
The dry aroma is of charcoal, chestnuts, orchids, other flowers, and grass. The first steep has notes of chestnuts, grain, charcoal, orchids, honey, and grass. I get hints of peach in the second steep, along with a little more charcoal and some florals. Sadly, the peach disappears after this steep, and the tea is buttery, nutty, and roasty with lots of florals to balance it out. By steep six, I start getting the minerals and pine that Daylon mentioned, and the roast is becoming more pronounced. Later steeps have a saline quality, lots of chestnuts and roast, and a surprisingly floral and grassy aftertaste.
While this is definitely a roasted tea, it’s nicely balanced with the chestnuts and florals. The tea is pleasant to drink and the flavours evolve in an interesting way. I wish there was more fruit, and while the thick body and florality remind me of Lishan, I’m not sure I would have guessed the terroir if it wasn’t on the label. I don’t think I could finish 75 g, but I will enjoy the rest of this sample.
Flavors: Butter, Charcoal, Chestnut, Floral, Grain, Grass, Honey, Mineral, Nutty, Orchid, Peach, Pine, Roasted, Saline, Sweet
