Dry leaf: A hint of mint, smoke, tart dried fruit, honey. Pretty loose cake material. Leaf in a warm clay pot had a slight vegetal and dankness to it.
Taste: Good sweetness, fruity with honey, a little tartness. Very full, smooth, slick mouthfeel 3rd steep on.
Liquor: Bright, beautiful, golden yellow.
Spent leaf: Olive to dark olive. No discolorations. Leaves were in decent condition.
Vessel: 125ml clay pot
The flavor and body were light on the 1st and 2nd steeps but had a nice honey aroma and a mouthwatering effect. Body and flavor really pick up at the 3rd steep and the liquor is a bright golden yellow. I got a tiny hint of mint at the beginning, but mostly a honey sweetness and tart dried fruit. I very much enjoyed the mouthfeel. Nice and creamy with a tiny touch of roughness on the tongue.
Overall, the mouthfeel was what really carried this tea for me. It was so nice you just wanted to keep on going with it.
Update 03/13/17 – The tea has rested a couple of weeks and I upped my leaf ratio. No more astringency and a nice honey sweetness is coming out. Upped my rating & updated notes! For me this was a lesson in letting the tea rest a bit.
Flavors: Dried Fruit, Honey, Mint, Smoke
Preparation
People who liked this
Comments
has your cake/sample rested? i find this to have plentiful menghai flavors, pineapple, bitter leafy greens and honey sweetness. Of course personal taste differs, and these flavor notes are not as good as they are as in the if you’re reading this and tuhao (all similar teas in my mind, just different pegs in quality) but they are there for me. by the way i do 7g/100ml and boiling water, flash steeps, adjust to taste.
I have enough sample left to try again with higher leaf ratio, boiling water, and flash steeps and I’ll still have some to put some aside to rest. Thanks for the feedback – it’s a learning process for me.
no one ever stops learning! cheers
Hitting this tea again right now. Using more leaf and I’m getting more flavor out of it this time. The honey sweetness has really come out and no astringency so far. A couple of weeks of rest and additional leaf has really ramped up the flavor! Very happy with it!
has your cake/sample rested? i find this to have plentiful menghai flavors, pineapple, bitter leafy greens and honey sweetness. Of course personal taste differs, and these flavor notes are not as good as they are as in the if you’re reading this and tuhao (all similar teas in my mind, just different pegs in quality) but they are there for me. by the way i do 7g/100ml and boiling water, flash steeps, adjust to taste.
I have enough sample left to try again with higher leaf ratio, boiling water, and flash steeps and I’ll still have some to put some aside to rest. Thanks for the feedback – it’s a learning process for me.
no one ever stops learning! cheers
Hitting this tea again right now. Using more leaf and I’m getting more flavor out of it this time. The honey sweetness has really come out and no astringency so far. A couple of weeks of rest and additional leaf has really ramped up the flavor! Very happy with it!