I’ve sipped down all of my Grand Crew samples, and am ready to review them. I’m honestly not going to write books like I normally do while describing the qualities I found more distinct if any, so here’s a paragraph. Or two.
The leaves had a very orchid like scent, and were a mixture of a pale green yellow and black. The black leaves were unfortunately mostly crushed, so they might have been mistaken by fannings if I didn’t know they were delicate. Grand Crew describes this one as being floral and heavy on the orchid, and while I got those gong fu after 25 sec in 150 ml, I also got a healthy amount of citrus in the finish. Consecutive steepings adding 15 seconds yielded much the same profile with a more rounded body, and increasing astringency and some acidity. There’s a pithiness like orange or grapefruit peel, so I began to cut the steeping times of later ones. I only made it to five rounds before the astringency got to me, so I stopped.
I like this one, and there’s some trademark orchid Shuixian peachiness, the overall tea’s profile reminds me of a Dan Cong. There’s some astringency in the mouth, and the bitterness shows up a little bit more. I enjoyed trying this fairly unique tea out because I’ve only seen some Taiwanese oolongs in this style before, but it’s a little on the pricy end even for me. $9 for 10 is a bit much for partially crushed leaves. Then again, shipping was fast and free over $25. I still don’t regret trying it because it is different.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Citrus, Floral, Mineral, Orchid, Peach, Sweet, Tart
