If I make a purchase from a vendor that carries a Mi Xiang black tea, chances are good it’ll end up in my cart. It was an extra draw that this one is from Shan Lin Xi. I steeped 6 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds.
The dry aroma is of honey, raisins, dates, pastry, malt, and wood. The first steep has notes of honey, raisins, dates, plums, pine, pastry, malt, and wood. As expected, the honey is the dominant presence, especially in the aftertaste. The next steep leans more toward plum and nectarine, and is quite sweet with a bit of a drying finish. Steeps three and four have hints of cinnamon, though that might be the honey, fruit, and pastry notes playing tricks on me. Steeps five and six introduce grass, cream, florals (orchid?), and more of that piny/sappy quality typical of SLX and bug-bitten teas. In the next two steeps, the fruit starts to fade and the malt, wood, and grass get stronger. There’s a touch of astringency in the finish, though this is still a very soft tea overall. The final steeps lean into tannins, raisins, malt, grass, and wood.
This is a nice Mi Xiang that is quite similar to others of its kind. I liked the stonefruit, though it could have lasted longer. The pine and florality indeed remind me of Shan Lin Xi. I would definitely consider buying more of this tea, though I’d be equally happy with the ones from Camellia Sinensis or Cha Yi, which are easier to find and possibly cheaper.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Cream, Dates, Drying, Floral, Grass, Honey, Malt, Nectarine, Orchid, Pastries, Pine, Plum, Raisins, Sweet, Tannin, Wood
