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I’m dipping a little further into my 2020/2021 review notebook for this one. This was one of my sipdowns from the spring of 2020, probably from either April or May. I was drinking a lot of white tea at the time, so I’m guessing that this review comes from that time of the year. It might actually be from March. I have no way of knowing. Anyway, this was a very good, very solid Yunnan Bai Mu Dan.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of the loose leaf and bud mix in 4 fluid ounces of 180 F water 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 leaf and bud mix emitted aromas of hay, grass, straw, eucalyptus, cedar, and sugarcane. After the rinse, new aromas of peanut, celery, malt, and butter emerged on the nose. The first infusion introduced aromas of oats and lemon rind. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of hay, grass, malt, cream, peanut, oats, and butter that were balanced by hints of cedar, celery, straw, and eucalyptus. The majority of the subsequent infusions added aromas of tree bark, vanilla, cream, and mint. Stronger and more immediately notable impressions of celery and straw came out in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, lemon rind, tree bark, almond, honeydew, pear, sour apricot, watermelon rind, and plum. Hints of vanilla, mint, wintergreen oil, and marshmallow were also present. As the tea faded, the liquor continued to emphasize notes of minerals, hay, malt, grass, lemon rind, peanut, watermelon rind, cream, and butter that were chased by hints of vanilla, almond, straw, celery, honeydew, and pear.

This was a pleasant and incredibly drinkable Yunnan white tea. Compared to the previous spring’s production, this offering was sweeter, fruitier, and better balanced. I liked them both, but this one was noticeably better.

Here is a review of another of my sipdowns from the summer of 2020. I generally find this tea to be one of Yunnan Sourcing’s most approachable and consistent Dancong oolongs from year to year, and this spring 2018 version was no exception. Though I have had better Mi Lan Xiang and generally tend to be picky about such teas anyway, this was a very good offering overall.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a standard 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 203 F water for 7 seconds. This initial infusion was chased 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 honey, orchid, cinnamon, peach, plum, sugarcane, cream, and cherry. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of spinach, roasted almond, and orange blossom. The first infusion introduced aromas or baked bread and vanilla. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of orchid, cream, vanilla, peach, sweet cherry, sugarcane, roasted almond, and orange blossom that were chased by hints of honey, spinach, grass, nectarine, lychee, baked bread, orange zest, and cinnamon. The bulk of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of grass, butter, orange zest, custard, nectarine, lychee, pear, violet, and coriander. Stronger and more immediately presented notes of honey, lychee, grass, orange zest, baked bread, and nectarine emerged in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, pomegranate, butter, candied pomelo, pear, green apple, earth, violet, cucumber, coriander, and white grape. I also picked out some occasional hints of custard. As the tea faded, the liquor continued to emphasize notes of minerals, coriander, roasted almond, white grape, orange zest, green apple, pear, butter, and grass that were chased by a swell of subtler impressions of spinach, sugarcane, orchid, lychee, cucumber, peach, plum, and baked bread.

Compared to the Classic Mi Lan Xiang, this was a sweeter, fruitier, and more syrupy tea with a heavier, thicker mouthfeel. Its comparatively fewer quirks and rough edges made it the more approachable of the two, though that also had the effect of making it seem slightly less unique. Still, this was a very good tea. People who are into sweet, floral teas or those looking for a high quality entry into the world of Dancong oolong would love an offering like this one.

Okay, I’m back for another round of posting some reviews from the giant backlog of death. I had hoped to get at least two or three posted yesterday, but I ended up volunteering to scare children at my cousin’s haunted corn maze. I can’t turn down the opportunity to terrorize children, so Steepster got put on the backburner for the day. Anyway, this was one of my sipdowns from late summer of 2020. Though I found the spring 2017 version of this tea to be just kind of decent, this version was actually very good.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a standard 10 second rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 fluid 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 orange blossom, custard, pomegranate, nectarine, and orchid. After the rinse, new aromas of honey, smoke, sugarcane, pear, and roasted almond emerged on the nose. The first infusion introduced subtle aromas of wood and spinach. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of grass, butter, spinach, wood, roasted almond, honey, orchid, and cream that were backed by hints of baked bread, smoke, sugarcane, orange blossom, nectarine, pomegranate, and sour cherry. The bulk of the subsequent infusions introduced new aromas of lychee, peach, grass, sour cherry, plum, and green bell pepper to the tea’s bouquet. Stronger and more immediately presented notes of baked bread, smoke, sugarcane, pomegranate, and sour cherry emerged in the mouth with notes of minerals, custard, violet, earth, peach, plum, lychee, cantaloupe, orange zest, watermelon rind, pear, and green bell pepper. Hints of white grape and vanilla could be detected as well, while interesting and unexpected impressions of beeswax, wintergreen, and cannabis lingered on the back of the throat after each swallow. As the tea faded, the liquor began to emphasize notes of orchid, orange zest, cream, butter, baked bread, green bell pepper, roasted almond, sugarcane, grass, and wood that were chased by fleeting hints of honey, peach, pomegranate, lychee, violet, spinach, sour cherry, plum, watermelon rind, and white grape.

In the 2017 version of this tea, the vegetal notes started to become awkward and overpowering late in my gongfu sessions, but in this spring 2018 production, they were more balanced and integrated. This tea was much deeper and more complex than its earlier counterpart, and it was also much less bitter and astringent. This was a much better tea overall. What a difference a year can make!

Well, I was planning on going to bed after I posted my last review, but I can’t sleep, so I’m doing laundry and sneaking in another tea review. Insomnia sucks, by the way. Funny enough, it’s not caffeine related. I go through seasonal bouts of insomnia, and I have no clue why. Anyway, this was another of my late 2020 sipdowns. I noticed that previous reviews for this tea were kind of hit or miss, but I pretty much loved this one.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 fluid ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. 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 minutes 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, orchid, malt, black cherry, honey, cinnamon, and pine. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of orange zest, roasted peanut, and roasted almond that were underscored by a subtle smoky aroma. The first infusion introduced aromas of cream, butter, and geranium. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of baked bread, malt, cream, butter, cinnamon, orchid, and roasted almond that were balanced by hints of smoke, honey, sugarcane, oats, black cherry, orange zest, pine, and pear. The majority of the subsequent infusions added pear, chocolate, red apple, plum, sugarcane, violet, and grape leaf aromas to the tea’s bouquet. Stronger and more immediately notable impressions of sugarcane, pine, oats, orange zest, and pear emerged in the mouth alongside notes of minerals, red apple, violet, roasted peanut, plum, grape leaf, caramel, and lemon zest. Subtler impressions of peach, anise, chocolate, red grape, and geranium were also present. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, orchid, malt, baked bread, sugarcane, violet, and orange zest that were balanced by lingering hints of butter, honey, red grape, red apple, plum, caramel, roasted almond, grape leaf, and lemon zest.

This was a very nice Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong. Its dominant syrupy, floral, and fruity characteristics made for a pleasant change of pace from the other Wuyi black teas that I was drinking at the time. While this was primarily a very sweet black tea, it was not unbalanced in any way, remaining drinkable and appealing over the entirety of the span of time I spent working my way through what I had of it. At this point, all I can really offer is that I thoroughly enjoyed this tea, but I can kind of understand why some people may not have been as into it. You would have to either be into sweeter teas or able and willing to overlook this tea’s dominant sweetness to appreciate the nuances it offered to find it enjoyable.

This was one of my sipdowns from very early in the year. It was also something of a novelty for me: a regular offering among Yunnan Sourcing’s Yunnan black teas that I had never previously tried. Why was that? This tea was always sold out whenever I previously set my mind on purchasing some. I wasn’t avoiding it. I just couldn’t procure any of it due to lack of availability. What did I do after waiting two years to get my hands on some of this tea? I put off trying it and then forgot about it. Organized and focused are two things I most certainly am not. I finally rediscovered my pouch of this tea in January and decided to try it then. Though it took me some time to get around to giving this tea a chance, I was ultimately glad I did. This was a very nice Yunnan black tea, and it had lost very little in storage.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. 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 emitted aromas of tobacco, malt, cedar, smoke, pine, and eucalyptus that were underscored by a subtle cocoa scent. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of baked bread, stewed tomato, geranium, green olive, and camphor. The first infusion introduced aromas of roasted peanut and roasted chestnut. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of malt, cream, butter, baked bread, geranium, pine, and roasted chestnut that were backed by hints of caramel, honey, anise, tobacco, clove, pear, stewed tomato, and eucalyptus. The majority of the subsequent infusions added aromas of clove, black pepper, red apple, roasted almond, plum, orange zest, and sweet potato to the tea’s bouquet. Stronger and more immediately notable impressions of caramel, clove, pear, stewed tomato, tobacco, and eucalyptus emerged in the mouth along with notes of minerals, red apple, earth, roasted peanut, roasted almond, cedar, leather, orange zest, plum, camphor, lemon zest, and sweet potato. Hints of black pepper, smoke, cocoa, green olive, cinnamon, and molasses were present as well. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, malt, baked bread, roasted almond, camphor, and tobacco that were chased by an impressive swell of caramel, lemon zest, cedar, earth, pine, roasted peanut, red apple, clove, black pepper, and eucalyptus hints.

This was a surprisingly deep, complex, richly textured, weighty, durable, and vibrant Yunnan black tea. After taking the opportunity to try it, I could see why it is one of Yunnan Sourcing’s most acclaimed offerings from year to year. A true connoisseur’s tea, this would make a wonderful option for black tea drinkers looking for a challenge or someone looking for a special occasion tea suitable for aging.

Alright, since I am determined to plow through two of my review notebooks before the end of the year, I’m back with some more reviews. This was yet another of my late 2020 sipdowns. It was also a tea that made me notice a trend: I tended to be underwhelmed by the wild arbor assamicas Yunnan Sourcing offered in 2018. They just failed to make much of an impact on me. For me, this tea was like the Yi Wu Mountain Wild Arbor Assamica in that I found it to be a likable enough tea and nothing more.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 fluid ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. 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 minutes 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of malt, hay, straw, cedar, butter, baked bread, and tobacco. After the rinse, new aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, camphor, eucalyptus, cannabis, and black pepper emerged. The first infusion added cream and sugarcane aromas. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of cream, butter, malt, baked bread, roasted almond, tobacco, cedar, camphor, and black pepper that were backed by hints of eucalyptus, grilled lemon, nutmeg, cinnamon, raisin, brown sugar, and sugarcane. The majority of the subsequent infusions introduced aromas of oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, minerals, earth, grass, and sweet potato to the tea’s bouquet. Stronger and more immediately notable impressions of grilled lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisin, brown sugar, eucalyptus, and sugarcane appeared in the mouth with notes of minerals, earth, orange zest, roasted peanut, grass, hay, and sweet potato in tow. I also detected hints of maple syrup, kumquat, roasted walnut, straw, oats, and cannabis. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, earth, cedar, camphor, eucalyptus, grilled lemon, grass, cream, and hay that were chased by lingering hints of butter, baked bread, sugarcane, tobacco, black pepper, cinnamon, and roasted peanut.

This was an interesting black tea, but it was also a bit restrained and subtle for my tastes. I tend to prefer bolder, richer Yunnan black teas, and this one was smoother and a little stuffier. It wasn’t bad though. I could see people who are really into comparing and contrasting specific Yunnan terroirs being into an offering of this sort.

Here is another sipdown from very early in the year. This was actually the tea I finished immediately before the Yi Mei Ren I just reviewed. I tend to like the Jingmai purple needle black teas offered by Yunnan Sourcing, and this one struck me as being a more or less excellent one. I always feel like offerings of this type are some of the most underrated in Yunnan Sourcing’s portfolio.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 fluid ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. This initial 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.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves emitted aromas of raisin, pine, cinnamon, malt, straw, and black cherry. After the rinse, aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, cream, sugarcane, strawberry, and blood orange appeared. The first infusion added juniper, pear, and red apple aromas in addition to a subtle grassy scent. In the mouth, the tea liquor offered notes of cream, malt, earth, butter, strawberry, straw, pine, roasted almond, and blood orange that were supported by subtler impressions of sugarcane, red pear, red apple, cinnamon, raisin, blueberry, blackberry, plum, oats, honey, baked bread, and cooked green beans. The majority of the subsequent infusions added orange zest, lemon zest, blackberry, earth, nutmeg, violet, plum, mineral, baked bread, and cedar aromas to the tea’s bouquet. Stronger and more immediately detectable impressions of plum, blackberry, baked bread, blueberry, sugarcane, and cooked green beans emerged in the mouth alongside notes of black cherry, minerals, lemon zest, cedar, violet, orange zest, and caramel. I also found hints of roasted peanut, grass, juniper, chocolate, nutmeg, and grapefruit. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, malt, cream, roasted almond, orange zest, caramel, baked bread, sugarcane, and lemon zest that were chased by lingering hints of grass, blueberry, blackberry, blood orange, pine, raisin, grapefruit, plum, red pear, and violet.

This was an extremely complex black tea with an absolutely lovely mix of aromas and flavors. It was truly impressive how harmoniously every aroma and flavor was integrated into the whole and how superbly balanced the tea liquor felt. If I had to point out any notable flaws, I would point out that I found this tea to be a bit busy and somewhat filling, but aside from those two relatively minor issues, I would be hard pressed to find anything negative to say about it. This was very much an offering worth digging into and savoring. I now wish that I had gone ahead and picked up at least one of the two most recent productions.

Okay, here is another review out of the backlog. This one comes from very early 2021. I remember being surprised to discover a 50g pouch of this tea in one of my tea totes because I did not remember purchasing it. I loved the spring 2017 production of this tea, so I rushed to try this spring 2018 production almost immediately after discovering it in my stash. My reaction was disappointment and bewilderment. This tea was virtually nothing like the spring 2017 production that I so loved. As I worked my way through the pouch, however, it steadily grew on me. In the end, I determined that this was an okay black tea, but it was still very lacking compared to the previous year’s version.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 fluid ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. 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 emitted aromas of earth, dark chocolate, malt, cinnamon, black cherry, and blueberry. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, and green wood. The first infusion added subtle grass and hay aromas. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of malt, earth, green wood, cream, oats, butter, baked bread, and roasted almond that were backed by hints of sugarcane, raisin, cooked green beans, dark chocolate, grass, hay, and cinnamon. The bulk of the subsequent infusions added aromas of sugarcane, orange zest, baked bread, violet, lemon zest, pine, and eucalyptus to the tea’s bouquet. Stronger and more immediately detectable impressions of cooked green beans, dark chocolate, grass, and sugarcane came out in the mouth with mineral, orange zest, roasted peanut, pine, lemon zest, and violet notes in tow. I was also able to pick up on hints of black cherry, eucalyptus, blueberry, blackberry, and green olive. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, malt, cream, butter, baked bread, orange zest, pine, roasted almond, and lemon zest that were chased by fleeting hints of sugarcane, eucalyptus, black cherry, oats, violet, roasted peanut, blackberry, and cinnamon.

As much as this tea failed to display the brilliant fruit and flower aromas and flavors of the previous spring’s production, it still displayed respectable depth and complexity on the nose and in the mouth. The tea liquor also managed to showcase solid body and nice texture. Were some of the aroma and flavor components a little unfocused and unbalanced? Yes. Did all of the aroma and flavor components always work well together? No, not quite. Overall, this tea displayed very apparent strengths and equally apparent weaknesses. It was a mixed bag, but it was far from the worst tea I have ever consumed.

Here we have another review for one of my late 2020 sipdowns. This is also a rare review in which I get to play the role of cranky contrarian. I have no clue why, but Yunnan Sourcing’s Yi Wu Mountain Wild Arbor Assamica never quite does it for me. This was the second production of it that I tried, and I just didn’t get it. It did not do much of anything for me.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 fluid ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. 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, cedar, tobacco, raisin, and baked bread. After the rinse, aromas of roasted almond and roasted peanut appeared. The first infusion brought out aromas of butter and lemon zest. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of malt, cream, butter, and roasted almond that were backed by delicate hints of raisin, lemon zest, baked bread, black pepper, cedar, sugarcane, and eucalyptus. The majority of the subsequent infusions collectively added aromas of black pepper, oats, grass, hay, orange zest, green bell pepper, pine, and eucalyptus to the tea’s bouquet. Stronger and more immediately notable flavors of raisin, baked bread, lemon zest, and sugarcane emerged in the mouth with notes of minerals, hay, oats, grass, orange zest, pine, and green bell pepper accompanying. I also detected a few stray hints of grapefruit pith, tobacco, and juniper. As the tea faded, the liquor continued to emphasize notes of minerals, lemon zest, orange zest, malt, green bell pepper, hay, and grass that were chased by a swell of lingering cedar, tobacco, grapefruit pith, pine, eucalyptus, butter, juniper, sugarcane, cream, and baked bread hints.

I know that previous reviewers loved this tea, but I was a little underwhelmed by it. It was not remotely bad, but it struck me as being a little flat. The mouthfeel of the tea liquor was thin and vacillated between flabbiness and sharpness. I also found the tea’s overall profile kind of uninspiring. There were no peaks or valleys during my review session. There were also no real surprises. It was easy for me to see where this tea was going very quickly, and it did not go on to upset my expectations. Oh well. Yi Wu stuff continues to be largely hit or miss for me. This tea was not bad, but I did not find it to be very interesting or memorable on its own.

Well, it’s been another nightmare of a day here, and since I feel like garbage, I’m blowing off steam by flopping on my couch and writing tea reviews. This was another of my late 2020 sipdowns. At the time I was working my way through a 50g pouch of this tea, I recalled being absolutely over the moon for the spring 2017 production. This spring 2018 version was not quite as good, but it was still a more or less excellent offering.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse (about 5 seconds), I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 fluid ounces of 194 F water for 5 seconds. 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 emitted aromas of malt, baked bread, molasses, sweet potato, hay, and caramel. After the rinse, I detected new aromas of roasted almond, roasted peanut, pine, eucalyptus, banana, and black pepper. The first infusion added cream and butter aromas. In the mouth, the tea liquor presented notes of malt, cream, baked bread, roasted almond, sweet potato, butter, and molasses that were balanced by hints of cedar, hay, caramel, sugarcane, banana, horehound, and red apple. The majority of the subsequent infusions introduced new aromas of camphor, cinnamon, clove, cedar, chocolate, lemon zest, and marshmallow. Stronger and more immediately notable impressions of red apple, hay, and caramel appeared in the mouth alongside flavors of pear, minerals, earth, chocolate, plum, cinnamon, camphor, lemon zest, orange zest, eucalyptus, and marshmallow. I was also able to detect hints of pine, clove, black pepper, apricot, and roasted peanut. As the tea faded, the liquor emphasized notes of minerals, cream, baked bread, malt, butter, sweet potato, and roasted almond alongside an amplified roasted peanut presence and fleeting hints of red apple, orange zest, caramel, and lemon zest.

Compared to the spring 2017 production of this tea, this version was lighter, smoother, thinner, and less persistently herbal. It was also subtler, more reserved, and generally stuffier. Honestly, I frequently found myself missing a pronounced herbal presence and more substantial body in the tea liquor, but this was still a very high quality Feng Qing black tea even without those characteristics. One thing this tea had going for it compared to the previous version was that it had more of a pronounced nuttiness, which was nice. Of the two, this one was not quite as fun or as interesting, but it was less filling, easier to drink, and more approachable. To me, both were obvious winners, though I still prefer the spring 2017 version to this one.