Prep: 60cc gaiwan, 3-5g. Longish steep to open her up, flash steep x2, 10s, 10s, 20s, 30s, etc..
Sessions with this tea: 8
Taste: almond skin bitterness up front with apricot returning sweetness. Some soft smoke or charcoal which fades out. Later steeps are more open with a maybe onion soupiness.
Body: mouthfeel moderately thick. Strength in the jaw. Slippery on the tongue/roof-of-mouth which builds on itself with each steep. If you have a fast-paced session with this tea, expect to salivate some. Moderate energy, but one out of every 3 sessions so far has made me quite jittery and skittish.
Summary: I feel like I’ve seen this tea on the YS website forever and is one of the oldest teas that isn’t a factory tea in the “humid stored” section — how have more people not reviewed this tea?! Briefly, is in a good place w.r.t. age — not too mellow, but the bite of the bitterness is mostly gone and this tea is very enjoyable for its price.
