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Before I start this review, allow me to state that I was not familiar with this style of tea prior to trying this version. I knew that this was a black tea harvested from the same tea cultivar used to make Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, a.k.a. lapsang souchong. That was about the extent of my knowledge pertaining to this particular tea. Apparently, there are two major distinctions between this tea and lapsang souchong. The first is that this tea is produced from the young buds and smaller leaves of the plant, while the more familiar lapsang is normally made using the larger leaves. The second is that this tea is not pine smoked.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. Again, I used Verdant’s suggestions as a starting point and then went with my gut. I started by steeping 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 195 F water for 5 seconds. I followed this infusion with 11 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 8 seconds, 11 seconds, 14 seconds, 17 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 30 seconds, and 2 minutes.

Prior to infusion, the dry tea leaves gave off a wonderful aroma that reminded me of a combination of cocoa, brown sugar, and vanilla bean. After infusion, I noted strong scents of roasted grain, cocoa, brown sugar, cream, and vanilla bean. In the mouth, there were pleasantly robust notes of cocoa, brown sugar, cream, vanilla bean, and roasted grain. I also noted a trace of minerals that was most apparent on the finish. Subsequent infusions displayed a slightly enhanced minerality, while black walnut, hazelnut, and maple syrup joined the aromas and flavors detailed above. The final series of infusions was very mineral heavy, offering fleeting impressions of cream, vanilla, maple, and cocoa on the nose and in the mouth.

This was a nice black tea. It kind of reminded me of a less honeyed Jin Jun Mei. I did, however, wish that the flavors separated slightly more and that they displayed greater staying power. Still, I could see myself reaching for this if I were in the mood for a lighter, sweeter black tea. I could also see myself recommending this to people looking to branch out from some of the more common Chinese black teas.