Zhengyan Da Hong Pao

2020 harvest. Tian Geng Da Hong Pao on the packet. Can’t find the OWT listing anymore. 6/90. gaiwan lid floral starts out as a sort of deep floral and softens. I’m sure I say this far too often, but these gaiwan lid aromatics are something else — probably more enjoyable than most of my perfumes, and I really like my perfumes!! wet leaf here is mostly roasty notes. I never thought of it as metallic, but seeing that somewhere abt oolong roasts makes me associate it now. overall kind of soft, some salivating effect initially. some cocoa, not sure if it’s my imagination that my Brita filter needing to be swapped has muddled it somewhat. ended with a cold cup of the 2nd steep and it was pretty great. I’m generally surprised by how drastic the changes are coming back, as everything seems to be enhanced, even if the tea didn’t seem rich initially. Keeps me humble, even though realistically I’m not terribly good with evaluating oolongs. At .96/g when I got it, a good value.

3-ish remaining grams in a yeti. was creamy floral, with some of the celery/mineral notes apparent. Very nice.