Zhi Ming Du

This Mengsong is such a stark contrast to the Hekai, both in processing and origin character. This is a cleaner, less-orange tea, with much more potency and strength. So much so that I find myself dialing back the leaf a little this morning. Creaminess dominates this tea. A rich, fruit flesh with whipped cream comes to mind, balanced by bright, fresh minty bitterness. In the back of the throat, strong sweetness returns – I love this character. Enjoyable, but requiring a more delicate hand, as it can get rather bristly if pushed.

Fighting with the dense little bing, my first session pulled leaves from the bottom, inner portions of the cake, while the second session included more of the showy, large attractive leaves melded to the front of the cake. Differences were not particularly noticeable, in large part due to the fact that this tea is fairly tempered, with a very certain orangeness and lack of textural depth. A terrace or plantation origin shows through as that muddy green straw flavor, but it’s not overbearing. Various rich flavors exist in spades, as does front-palate bitterness, but thickness, minty coolness, and returning sweetness escape this tea.

Provided by Grand Tea; mellow- rounding the corner from raw to smooth sipping. 92 points on Walker Tea Review #269

Strong, pleasant, goes from buttered toast to something characteristic of young puerh, a citrus peel note with hints of tropical fruits