This was a very nice semi aged ripe from Streetshop88 on EBay. It was quite good. It had just a little bit of fermentation flavor left in the first steep or two. It was sweet with little bitterness from the start. It had a very thick mouthfeel to it. It would be what you would probably call rich and creamy. It just got sweeter as the steeps went on. This is one I would consider getting another cake of. It was that good. It was not quite what I would call spectacular but only a step down from that. I definitely recommend a sample of this one. I really enjoyed my tea session with this.
I steeped this twelve times in a 150ml gaiwan with 10.3g leaves and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 minutes. Could of gotten a few more steeps out of it but want to move on to something else.
Flavors: Earth, Sweet
“Fermentation flavor” is a phrase I frequently see in your notes. I’m not sure I know what it means.
I don’t drink a whole ton of shu, and most of what I’ve tasted is in the 4-6 years old range. I notice that it has a faint sour tang, as of lactic acid maybe. Is that what you’re referring to?