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Alright, round two. This was one of my sipdowns from either late July or early August. That’s right. We’re not dipping quite as far into my nearly three year backlog with this belated review. In the month plus since I have polished off what I had of this tea, I still do not quite know what to make of it. I am providing a numerical score with this review, but honestly, I am not confident my score does this tea justice. Like many of the other offerings Rohini cranks out, this was a very quirky, playful tea that was difficult for me to compare to anything else.

I prepared this tea in the Western style. I steeped approximately 3 grams of loose leaf material in about 8 ounces of 194 F water for 5 minutes. I did not rinse the leaves prior to infusion nor did I attempt any additional infusions.

Prior to steeping, the loose leaf material produced aromas of almond, grass, hay, straw, and pine that were accompanied by a subtle fennel scent. After steeping, I detected aromas of muscatel, basil, cream, orange blossom, orange zest, dandelion, lemon, and coriander coming from the tea liquor. In the mouth, the liquor presented notes of grass, hay, straw, lemon, pine, almond, dandelion, dandelion greens, muscatel, orange zest, orange blossom, basil, cream, butter, and baked bread that were supported by hints of fennel, minerals, coriander, green wood, apricot, plum, and pear. The finish was fruity, vegetal, and herbal with just enough malt, cream, and butter notes on the swallow to provide some balance and stave off astringency and bitterness.

For a second flush Darjeeling black tea, this was very strange. Just looking at the loose leaf material, I could have easily mistaken this for a combination of first flush and second flush material had I not already known this was a second flush tea. The tea liquor also fell somewhere between a first flush and a second flush tea in terms of its appearance, body, and texture and in terms of the aroma and flavor components I detected. This tea was too vegetal and brisk to closely resemble most of the second flush Darjeeling black teas I have tried, but it was also too savory, fruity, and thick-bodied to closely resemble most of the first flush Darjeeling black teas I have tried. Overall, this was an interesting Darjeeling black tea, but I was hoping for something a little more consistent and a little more reminiscent of some of the classic second flush Darjeeling black teas that I have enjoyed in the past.

Okay, since I have been rained out for the remainder of the day (no outdoor work for me), I figured I may as well pop back on here and post a review or two. I had to go back and add this tea to the database, though I could have sworn that I had already added it at least once. I couldn’t find any information about this tea online, and I could only get close with the photo. All I know about it is that it was the light roasted version of Old Ways Tea’s 2019 Gao Cong Shui Xian. I can’t provide any other information about this tea. I only had an 8g sample pouch to work with, and I ended up trying it alongside some of Old Ways Tea’s other 2019 Shui Xian oolongs several months back. Of the bunch that I tried at the time, this one was the least satisfying of the lot, though it was not exactly a bad offering. In truth, Gao Cong Shui Xian is always rather hit or miss with me.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a standard 10 second rinse, I steeped 5 grams of loose tea leaves in 3 ounces of 203 F water for 6 seconds. This infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of cinnamon, roasted almond, wood, char, roasted barley, and black cherry. After the rinse, I detected aromas of roasted peanut, blueberry, blackberry, and orange zest that were underscored by a subtle orchid scent. The first infusion introduced something of a red grape aroma. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of wood, roasted almond, grass, char, cream, and butter that were balanced by hints of orchid, daylily, red grape, cinnamon, and blueberry. The bulk of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of caramel, rock candy, cream, butter, baked bread, minerals, and toasted rice. Stronger and more immediately apparent notes of orchid, red grape, daylily and cinnamon appeared in the mouth alongside mineral, roasted peanut, blackberry, roasted barley, baked bread, orange zest, black cherry, and toasted rice impressions. I also detected subtler notes of pomegranate, plum, rock candy, lemon, caramel, straw, and earth. As the tea settled and faded, the liquor started emphasizing notes of minerals, roasted almond, grass, roasted barley, orange zest, and toasted rice that were chased by notes of caramel, red grape, blackberry, blueberry, baked bread, roasted peanut, lemon, black cherry, and surprisingly enough, popcorn.

This was a pleasant enough Gao Cong Shui Xian, but it did not exactly captivate me. It did not offer anything that struck me as being unique, and there were numerous times in which I found the tea liquor to be a bit flabby and the balance of the flavor components to be somewhat out of whack. It was far from a terrible tea, but so far, it has also been the least appealing of Old Ways Tea’s 2019 oolongs that I have tried.

While I’m still in the mood to write and have a little time before I have to get back to work, here is another review from my backlog. This is another tea I finished earlier in the year. It was also a totally new experience for me, as I had never tried or even heard of Po Tou Xiang Dan Cong prior to this one. Did it make a good first impression on me? Yeah, for the most part, it did, but it also did not wow me so much that I will be frequently making much of an effort to track down more Po Tou Xiang.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 7 seconds. This infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of cinnamon, smoke, char, and cherry. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of cream, butter, roasted almond, orchid, and cannabis. The first infusion brought out subtle aromas of blackberry and roasted peanut. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cream, grass, roasted almond, cherry, and butter that were balanced by hints of cannabis, cinnamon, earth, orchid, smoke, blackberry, and roasted peanut. The bulk of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of vanilla, blueberry, mulberry, baked bread, minerals, orange zest, and rock candy. At times, I also picked up on a subtle violet scent. Stronger and more immediately notable impressions of orchid, blackberry, and earth appeared in the mouth alongside mineral, sugarcane, orange zest, blueberry, mulberry, and violet notes. I also consistently detected subtler impressions of char, vanilla, baked bread, toasted rice, pear, rock candy, and white grape, as well as an interesting and unexpected hint of green apple after each swallow. As the tea settled and faded, the liquor began to emphasize mineral, baked bread, orange zest, grass, sugarcane, violet, butter, mulberry, and blackberry notes that were balanced by lingering hints of orchid, roasted almond, cherry, rock candy, charcoal, white grape, toasted rice, green apple, and blueberry.

This was an incredibly odd and challenging Dan Cong oolong with highly unique aroma and flavor profiles. It also produced a tea liquor that was constantly shifting in terms of weight and texture in the mouth. There were times where I expected it to hit me hard, and it never did, but then there were other times where I expected it to calm down and thin out, and it instead presented as being strong and heavy. Honestly, I am still not entirely certain what to make of it. I can say that I most certainly enjoyed this tea, but I also found it to be a bit much. I think I’ll primarily stick with my preferred Dan Cong oolongs for now, but should I ever get the opportunity to try another Pou Tou Xiang, I doubt I will pass on it.

Okay, I’m back. It seems that something happens every single time I attempt to start catching up on reviews, but here I am once again. I will be posting about a couple major life updates in some of my upcoming tasting notes, so anyone who is into that sort of thing will probably learn more about me than they ever wanted to learn. If you are not one of those (hopefully) very few people, then I guess you’ll just have to deal with it. Anyway, this is a review from my vast backlog. I finished my 25g pouch of this tea several months back, but I cannot recall precisely when. I have something of a complicated relationship with Yun Wu, and really Anhui green teas in general, but after a bit of back and forth with this one, I got to a point where I greatly enjoyed it.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I started things off by steeping 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 167 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 15 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves presented delicate aromas of grass, roasted sweet corn, butter, cream, and summer squash. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of zucchini, malt, and hay. The first infusion then introduced an aroma of sugarcane coupled with much subtler scents of chestnut and bamboo shoots. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered up subtle, deftly layered notes of grass, butter, roasted sweet corn, summer squash, and cream that were balanced by fainter impressions of cucumber, zucchini, hay, chestnut, bamboo shoots, and sugarcane. The bulk of the subsequent infusions brought out aromas of cucumber, lettuce, coriander, parsley, and basil, as well as stronger aromas of chestnut and bamboo shoots. More immediate impressions of zucchini, hay, chestnut, and cucumber appeared in the mouth alongside notes of malt, minerals, coriander, lettuce, and parsley. I also picked up on subtle flavors of lemon, lime, basil, snap peas, bok choy, kale, and fresh green cabbage. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, lettuce, grass, zucchini, summer squash, hay, cream, butter, malt, and chestnut that were chased by lingering hints of cucumber, snap pea, lemon, kale, parsley, and coriander.

This was an extremely refined Chinese green tea. I also found this tea to be kind of a grower of an offering in the sense that it took several tries for me to understand and appreciate it. Fortunately, it was well worth the effort. If you are a fan of very nutty, creamy, vegetal green teas, this one will likely be up your alley.

This was one of my more recent sipdowns. I purchased a 100g pouch of this tea when it was first listed back in the spring of 2018 and ended up storing it until I worked through many of the older teas I had. I finally got around to trying it a couple weeks ago and spent the better part of four or five days working my way through all of it. It had held up well in storage and struck me as an enjoyable enough Yunnan black tea, but I’ve had better. It seems that I always end up feeling this way about teas like this one.

I opted to prepare this tea gongfu style. After quickly rinsing 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water, I started the session off with a 5 second infusion. This infusion was followed by 18 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of malt, raisin, dark chocolate, sugarcane, prune, cedar, and cinnamon that were underscored by a subtle scent of leather. After the rinse, I detected new roasted peanut and cooked green bean aromas. The first infusion brought out a baked bread aroma. In the mouth, the tea liquor expressed notes of malt, earth, baked bread, cream, cooked green beans, and dark chocolate that were balanced by subtler notes of cinnamon, roasted almond, roasted peanut, caramel, and raisin. The bulk of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of earth, smoke, orange zest, marshmallow, roasted almond, and sweet potato. Stronger and more immediately apparent impressions of roasted almond, roasted peanut, caramel, and raisin expressed themselves in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, vanilla, sweet potato, sugarcane, marshmallow, and orange zest. I also detected hints of leather, cedar, smoke, prune, grass, honey, pear, and apple. Towards the end of the session, the tea liquor softened and settled, emphasizing lingering impressions of minerals, earth, malt, marshmallow, caramel, orange zest, and cooked green beans that were chased by fleeting hints of raisin, sugarcane, honey, grass, roasted almond, dark chocolate, vanilla, and baked bread.

This was not a bad Yunnan black tea overall, but I also felt that it was not particularly memorable or unique. I have tried numerous teas that were very similar to this one, so I was hoping for at least one enjoyable trait that would stand out enough to set this tea apart. Unfortunately, I failed to find that trait. This was an enjoyable Yunnan black tea, one that had more than enough depth and complexity to be satisfying, but it did not strike me as being anything truly special.

Damn, getting back on here is difficult. It’s been awhile, huh? I have no clue how to start this thing. Anyway, in case anyone who used to pay attention to the reviews I posted here on Steepster hadn’t noticed, I have been away and generally unreachable for a few months now. Some things happened. Let’s just leave it at that. Prior to today, I had no intention of ever making any further contributions to this platform as a reviewer, but before I call it a day for good, I want to take one more crack at this and just see what happens. I’m starting this new test run off with a tea I drank last year and never reviewed here.

I prepared this tea in what I imagine to be fairly typical Western fashion. I rinsed and then steeped 3 grams of loose leaf material in approximately 8 ounces of 194 F water. I did not attempt any further infusions.

Prior to rinsing, the dry tea leaves presented aromas of hay, straw, grass, almond, and chili leaf. After rinsing, I noted new aromas of dandelion, violet, and lemon zest accompanied by subtler scents of fresh spinach and wintergreen. The 5 minute infusion brought out aromas of cream, muscatel, peanut, and baked bread. In the mouth, the tea liquor expressed smooth, satisfying notes of cream, almond, malt, violet, dandelion, grass, hay, straw, dandelion greens, lemon zest, chili leaf, green wood, orange zest, baked bread, peanut, and muscatel that were underscored by subtle touches of fresh spinach, wintergreen, butter, grapefruit, and green apple. The finish was nutty and smooth, displaying a pleasant balance of almond, peanut, cream, malt, lemon zest, and orange zest notes and mild-to-moderate astringency.

This was basically a typical higher end first flush Nepalese black tea, but it was a very likable and drinkable one. The tea liquor was very aromatic and displayed excellent depth and complexity in the mouth. There was nothing out of place or unpleasant about it. The way Jun Chiyabari just cranks out great tea after great tea never ceases to amaze me. This was yet another winner in their portfolio.

Well, I’m finally back to post some reviews for the first time in three weeks. I still cannot force myself to get back into the swing of posting regular reviews for whatever reason. I keep trying though, so here I am once again. I’m hoping that if I just knock one or two out every other day or so, posting regularly will once again become a habit. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see about that. Here goes!

This was one of my last sipdowns of 2020, a year that I cannot wait to put even further behind me. And while the year as a whole, and especially the last two months of the year, were a total slog for me, the teas I drank during those two months were largely lovely. This one was definitely a winner. I finished it on Christmas day, and I doubt I could have asked for a better wrap to the day than flopping on my couch and sucking down some good black tea.

For my review session, I prepared this tea gongfu style. After quickly rinsing 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water, I started my session off with a 5 second infusion. This infusion was followed by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes. I did not vary the water temperature over the course of the session. It remained set at 194 F.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of straw, cinnamon, malt, cedar, and honey. After the rinse, I picked up new aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, and smoke. The first infusion introduced aromas of cream, butter, and baked bread. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of straw, baked bread, cinnamon, butter, malt, cedar, cream, and roasted almond that were balanced by subtler impressions of honey, rose, sugarcane, smoke, and strawberry. The subsequent infusions coaxed out aromas of rose, cherry, strawberry, orchid, orange zest, orange blossom, and rock candy. Stronger and more immediately detectable flavors of rose and strawberry appeared in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, cherry, elderberry, lychee, elderflower, orange blossom, tangerine, orange zest, pear, lemon zest, orchid, roasted peanut, and rock candy. I also noticed a cooling menthol impression that lingered at the back of my throat after each sip. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, cream, malt, sugarcane, orange zest, pear, elderflower, and roasted peanut that were balanced by lingering hints of rose, lychee, orange blossom, elderberry, strawberry, cream, cherry, roasted almond, rock candy, baked bread, and menthol.

This was a very unique, pleasant, and satisfying Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong. Normally, I am not huge on extremely sweet black teas, but this one impressed me. At this point, I have had a ton of Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, so it’s hard for one to surprise me, but this one had some aroma and flavor components that I had either never previously picked up in any other Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong or had not picked up consistently in other offerings. This was definitely a tea that was very much worthy of a serious review, and I’m kind of kicking myself because I waited so long to try it. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for some fresh Hua Xiang Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong this year. I would recommend that anyone reading this review strongly consider picking some up too.

Before I begin this review, just allow me to state that I did not expect typing the review I just posted to go as quickly or as smoothly as it did. If I don’t write something new at least every 2-3 days, I get out of the rhythm of typing, and it usually takes me a long time to sit down, focus, and get to work. That was not the case with my last review, which is more than a little impressive to me. Anyway, getting back on track here, this was another of my November sipdowns. I generally do not like Yunnan Sourcing’s Imperial Grade Bai Lin Gong Fu as much as their Classic Bai Lin Gong Fu, and it seems that I am not alone in that. This spring 2018 Imperial Grade Bai Lin Gong Fu did not quite buck that trend, but it did at least give the Classic Bai Lin Gong Fu a run for its money.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After setting my water temperature at 194 F, I quickly rinsed the 6 grams of loose tea buds I had set aside for reviewing purposes. I then started my session in earnest by steeping the rinsed buds in 4 ounces of the 194 F water for 5 seconds. This infusion was followed by 16 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 7 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea buds emitted aromas of baked bread, honey, dark chocolate, pine, malt, and cinnamon. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of butter, cream, plum, cherry, and vanilla. The first infusion introduced a subtle roasted almond aroma. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented me with notes of sweet potato, brown sugar, honey, baked bread, malt, and butter that were balanced by subtler impressions of pine, dark chocolate, cinnamon, cherry, and vanilla. The majority of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of minerals, brown sugar, sweet potato, molasses, orange zest, and lemon zest. Stronger and more immediately detectable impressions of cinnamon, dark chocolate, cherry, and vanilla appeared in the mouth alongside notes of earth, minerals, grass, molasses, orange zest, plum, cream, roasted almond, and lemon zest. I also notes hints of leather, grapefruit, and smoke. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, malt, baked bread, cream, earth, and grass that were balanced by lingering roasted almond, honey, lemon zest, leather, brown sugar, cherry, vanilla, dark chocolate, and sweet potato hints.

This was a very pleasant and drinkable Fujian black tea. Usually, the Imperial Grade Bai Lin Gong Fu offered by Yunnan Sourcing strikes me as being overly dry, stuffy, and reserved, but this struck me as being a much warmer, mellower, and more engaging offering overall. It very much made me look forward to trying a few more imperial grade Bai Lin Gong Fu offerings in the near future.

Alright, I’m finally back on here. It seems that I have very little motivation to type tea reviews these days. This was one of my sipdowns from the second half of last month. It was a very nice, likable Wuyi black tea, but it did not quite measure up to the spring 2018 Premium AA Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong offered by Yunnan Sourcing.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. I set my water temperature at 194 F and did not raise or lower it over the course of my review session. After briefly rinsing the 6 grams loose tea leaves I had set aside for the session, I started things off by steeping them for 5 seconds. This infusion was chased by 17 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, and 10 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of baked bread, malt, pine, cocoa, and smoke. After the rinse, I detected aromas of brown sugar, roasted almond, roasted peanut, and sweet potato. The first infusion introduced a subtle creamy scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented me with notes of cream, malt, baked bread, pine, cocoa, roasted almond, and roasted peanut that were balanced by hints of plum, smoke, pear, orange zest, cinnamon, brown sugar, and sweet potato. The majority of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of cinnamon, orange zest, plum, red apple, pear, marshmallow, lemon zest, minerals, and roasted chestnut. Stronger and more immediately noteworthy impressions of plum, pear, smoke, brown sugar, orange zest, and sweet potato appeared in the mouth alongside notes of red apple, earth, minerals, roasted chestnut, and lemon zest. I also detected hints of lychee, marshmallow, tangerine, butter, red grape, leather, and roasted walnut here and there. As the tea settled and faded, the liquor shifted to emphasize notes of minerals, cream, malt, baked bread, roasted peanut, roasted chestnut, lemon zest, and leather that were balanced by subtler impressions of brown sugar, butter, sweet potato, pine, red grape, orange zest, plum, pear, and roasted almond.

This was a nice Wuyi black tea, but as mentioned in the introductory paragraph, it did suffer a bit in comparison to the Premium AA offering. Still, it had a very respectable mix of aromas and flavors and displayed more than admirable longevity in a lengthy and intense drinking session. Had the tea liquor been just a bit smoother and thicker and had some of the flavor components been just a little more deftly integrated, this would have been a great offering. As is, this tea was very good, but it just lacked those little extra somethings that would have pushed it over the top for me.

For my final review of the day, I’m going to dip a little further into the backlog than I did with my last two reviews and look back to my last sipdown of October. The Classic Bai Lin Gong Fu Black tea of Fuding is always one of Yunnan Sourcing’s regular offerings that I look forward to every year, primarily due to it almost always providing a great drinking experience. This spring 2018 offering proved to be no exception. It was a fantastic Fujian black tea.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. For my review session, I set the water temperature at 194 F and neither raised nor lowered it over the course of the session. After quickly rinsing the loose tea leaves, I started off with a 5 second infusion. This infusion was chased by 18 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 7 seconds, 9 seconds, 12 seconds, 16 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced aromas of malt, cinnamon, baked bread, cedar, chocolate, and raisin. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of roasted almond and roasted peanut. The first proper infusion introduced aromas of honey and sweet potato. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented me with notes of malt, chocolate, cedar, cream, baked bread, and sweet potato that were balanced by subtler impressions of roasted almond, roasted peanut, raisin, honey, cinnamon, and brown sugar. The bulk of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of orange zest, brown sugar, earth, plum, butter, grass, and roasted walnut. Stronger and more immediately detectable notes of roasted almond, roasted peanut, and brown sugar appeared in the mouth alongside earth, orange zest, mineral, vanilla, butter, and roasted walnut impressions. I also detected hints of plum, pear, smoke, red apple, green bell pepper, and grass. As the tea faded, the liquor settled and emphasized notes of minerals, cream, malt, earth, and roasted almond that were chased by lingering brown sugar, honey, grass, vanilla, roasted peanut, chocolate, and raisin hints.

This was a very smooth, sophisticated Fujian black tea that remained very approachable despite its complexity and depth. It also displayed tremendous longevity in a fairly extended drinking session. Since Yunnan Sourcing has batted 1.000 with offerings of this type, and this one did not buck that trend, I fully expect that the two most recent productions of this tea were also more or less just as good as this one. If you happen to be looking for a great and versatile Chinese black tea that is both easy and fun to drink, look no further.