Xiaguan Tea Factory (Jing Tea Shop)

2011 Xia Guan Jin Se Yin Xiang

Liquid Proust Teas

7.3g, 105 mL gaiwan, Brita filtered tap, 212f

dry leaves are pretty standard sheng smell

5s rinse

wet leaves are smoky with a hint of spice, soup, & dried fruit

15s: not much flavor, but a lightly peppery aftertaste. waiting for leaves to decompress some more.

15s: broth has a sort of grainy smell. slightly woody medicinal w/ a hint of citrus

20s x2: bitter upfront with hints of dried fruit later appearing. something vaguely citrus-y about it.

30s: leaves and broth both smell sweeter. Tea itself is bitter & brisk as usual. aftertaste picks up more of a fruity floral as well as a sort of cooling mint.

1 min: still strong on bitter notes that turn into a cool sweetness. Aftertaste had something of a soapy note

I got bored and tossed the rest into the thermos. Didn’t take notes on the result, and don’t remember what it was like, so probably as expected.

10g, approx. 100ml
Tightly compressed smallish leaves which rested for a bit after rinsing.
Wet leaf smells like mossy wood, spice and ample smoke.
Taste is like smooth wood, menthol/camphor?, smoke and a hint of dark fruit in the background. Both sweet and bitter.
Steeped several infusions and saved leaf for another time.
Very nice, and am really happy to have been given this to try! :)

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Breaking this one out tonight for the for the first time. Broke off about 12 grams for this one. Brewing in a new Yixing from Enjoying Tea.
It has the typical XiaGuan “tight” compression to it as I tried to pick out enough to brew. It was difficult to break the chunks I pried off into smaller pieces to infuse with.
The aroma of the dry leaf had a mossy peat moss smell to it. I gave it a flash rinse of about 5 seconds to wake it up some. I really think I should have gone longer due to the compression.
First brew good amber color, some smoke with a touch of bitter and drying at the end of the sip. Lighter than most Xia Guan at this stage probably should have steeped a bit longer.
Second infusion about 10 seconds color is good and the brew is much stronger. Much more smoke to it some floral and bitter and drying astringency that turns to a soft sweet barely noticeable on the end. Hui Gan is nice on this one and you can kind of “feel” the older leaf pushing up in the later infusion.
Xia Guan lover’s would like this one.