Aged da hong pao?!?!
Had to try this.
The dry leaf smells like dehydrated apples.
The wet leaf is all wuyi oolong roasted notes.
(Steeping notes: gaiwan to gaiwan instantaneous steepings, generous leaf, off the boil water.)
First steep: I just woke up, and have to rush out the door, but couldn’t wait any longer, after staring at this box all yesterday afternoon (but having already begun that session with the last of the quhao which lasted all day). I confess I can’t actually taste much of anything at the moment. But that’s my body, not this tea. So I’ll edit this note with later steepings… later. For now I can say that this is not simply da hong pao. There’s a bitterness, a dryness, a mineral quality you don’t find in this season’s leaf.
More later when my mouth and sinuses are awake.
waiting…
Second note made.