Yubai's Sheng Mao Cha from Jing Mai Mountain

I picked up a small sample of this with my first order from BTTC. It is one of the sweeter shengs I’ve tasted to this point. The dry leaf had a sweet and sugary aroma – it smelled like icing to me. After I rinsed it, the aroma became a little bit less sugary, boasting some sweet floral notes and a bit of a vegetal scent resembling kale.

The flavor was mostly green and floral sweetness. The first steep had a sweeter, almost caramel vibe to the finish, and for a few steeps there was the slightest hint of apricot to the finish. The texture was silky smooth, but not supremely thick. Bitterness was effectively nonexistent in this brew. I accidentally forgot about the tea at one point, allowing it to steep for ~5 minutes well before it was ready for such long steeps, and the resulting brew was decently bitter, but still quite drinkable. For most young sheng, that sort of steep would be undrinkable. With so little bitterness or body to this, I’m not sure it would age into anything of note, but it was a pleasant and easy drinker in its youth.

I got a sample collection from Beautiful Taiwan Tea company and they sent a sample marked “Raw Pu-erh” with no details. Based on their website and how the tea looks, I think this is the one. Strange that they didn’t provide more details on the package.

I brewed up gongfu this afternoon and found this tea pleasant enough. Brewed at 90C. It was a bit weak compared to some other young sheng’s I’ve had. That can be a good thing or bad thing depending on what everyone wants. I didn’t mind but missed the stronger apricot notes. They were there but not very prominent. It had a freshness to it closer to a green tea, a slight sweetness , & only very slight bitterness. Overall, a nice light sheng.

So, as this one is steeping, it smells grassy, flowery. The first sip is very grassy, too, though I think I need to wait awhile longer to drink this – that first sip nearly scalded my tongue!

Ok, since my tea has been cooling all the time I was on a family phone call, it’s definitely cooled off by now. I’m getting a bitter, almost astringent flavor from this now, and just the barest hint of sweetness. I don’t know if the bitterness is part of the flavor or because of my oversteeping, but it’s a pleasant bitterness.

I really like this one. It’s my first pu-erh tea. I think I want to try some more. :)