I bought a cake of this ages ago (February) and am very sorry I have not gotten to it until today! After a crazy busy week again at work, I needed the ultimate in comfort. It is a cold rainy day too, so I knew it would be shou. So I finally took the plunge and tore into this cake and steeped it in my Crimson Lotus teapot, which I also haven’t had a chance to season yet, but we are taking the plunge!!
I rinsed the fresh Jian Shui teapot with boiling water for about 45s to begin with, inside and out, and then let the leaves sit for about 30s in there to warm. Then a quick 7 min rinse (this teapot pours wonderfully quickly!!) and I then did a 30s steep. The liquor is dark and rich. The liquor smells dark and rich and sweet, so rich it’s almost buttery to me. And OMG, the flavor is dark and rich and sweet too!!
My gosh, dark chocolate, aftertaste of brown sugar and caramel, a thick mouthfeel..creamy and thick. Earthy too, and I didn’t mention…SOOO SMOOOOOTTTHHH. It actually is so smooth and thick, one of the most intriguing mouthfeels I’ve had in a tea ever. The earthiness is more on the mossy side too, as per the description.
I fed a second short 10s steeping to the exterior of my teapot to help season it, since I didn’t go through the long seasoning process.
I am excited to steep this all afternoon and enjoy. So happy I finally opened up this cake. Going to thoroughly enjoy it, and hopefully make it in this cute little teapot every time! Overall, currently a supremely delicious tea. This and Noble Mark are probably pretty close in ranking, although I need to have a few more sessions of this one to truly compare them.
Oh, and the third steeping is even smoother and more delicious. :D
