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Daylon generously sent me an entire vacuum-sealed ounce of this 2023 Long Feng Xia, which has been sitting in a box for just under a year. However, when I drink gaoshan samples, I drink them fast, so this tea was gone in just under a week. I steeped 6 g of leaf in 120 ml of 195F water for 25, 20, 25, 30, 30, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 seconds, plus some long, uncounted steeps.

The dry aroma is of orchid, lilac, sweet pea, and mild spices. The first steep has notes of orchid, lilac, sweet pea, cream, milk, sweet corn, grass, cookies, and hints of spice. Along with the cream and delicate florals, the second steep is a bit greener, though not bitter. The next couple steeps have headier orchid and honeysuckle notes, with some greenness in the background. With steeps five and six, the tea acquires notes of pine, spinach, and grass, though there’s still some sweetness and florality. The last few steeps are quite sappy and vegetal, with pine, spinach, grass, faint florals, and some sweetness.

Even though I usually don’t go for more vegetal oolongs, this one is highly drinkable and complex. The spicy florality in the first few steeps is lovely, and the sappy, piney note is reminiscent of other Shan Lin Xi oolongs. Thanks, Daylon, for sending me this tea!