I decided to try this tea from last month’s tea club shipment (still way behind, I just jumped ahead for this), because some people in teachat were talking about W2T Wuyi, so I decided to give one a try myself. To be honest, this one was a little odd. Not necessarily bad, but funky and unusual. The leaf smelled lightly roasty with a bit of honey or caramel sweetness.
The first steep is thick, with a raisin-y sourness and honey finish. I also detect a slight herbal flavor which, based on the talk of W2T Wuyi, I think might be kind of cannabis-like. I have little to no experience with that particular leaf though, so it could be something else entirely – that’s what kind of gives this tea a funky vibe for the most part.
The next couple steeps are also a bit off. While they offered some nice throaty feeling, I also got a soapy note, like what I’ve gotten from overbrewing dancongs before. The aftertaste remains fruity, almost getting peachy, with that funky note still hanging around.
After those steeps, I started getting less fruitiness with more of a mineral sweetness, still accompanied by the seemingly omnipresent cannabis note. The aftertaste became slightly floral. I began feeling a bit of energy and buzziness in my belly from this one. This went on much the same through steep 7, after which the tea’s flavor started to drop off.
This was an interesting Wuyi yancha – not a category of tea I have a particularly great amount of experience with. It was incredibly aromatic, with very long lasting flavor filling my mouth after each sip. I detected more qi from this than any other yancha I’ve had yet. The thickness was also the greatest I’ve experienced for a tea of this category – no longer a surprise from W2T. I think it is good and quite interesting, but a bit odd and funky. I really can’t decide whether I’d recommend it or not – leaning towards yes, because it’s fun to drink if nothing else.
Flavors: Cannabis, Floral, Fruity, Honey, Mineral, Raisins, Soap, Thick
