2016 Qianjiazhai Wild Yabao

mmm this is just perfect in the evening. It tastes similar to an aged white (think aged moonlight white or aged shou mei). Minerals, vegetal (but not grassy), light aged flavour. It resembles tea closely due to the fact that this plant is a close relative of the tea plant. Dried autumn leaf pile (dried elm and oak leaves), something in the aftertaste is spicy…like black licorice and pepper. Kind of like tulsi I guess? Bamboo, raisins, this tea is super complex and it changes with every sip! Some “spicy” notes, some umami, some nutty/aged flavour. It is well rounded.

Very moist mouthfeel. Resteeps well. Gongfu or western style works. Grandpa style produces equally tasty results.

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Yabao is technically not a true tea, as it comes from the Camellia crassicolumna species (rather than the tea plant, Camellia sinensis), and the flavor profile is quite distinct as a result. This is an incredibly sweet and fruity tea, with intense peach notes (almost like peach candy) and salty, marine base notes. On the palate, the tea begins very salty, with malt notes and the nutty, horsehair flavor common of teas from Yunnan. However, this initial (subjectively rather unpleasant) flavor quickly fades to a beautiful finish of fruit, again mostly juicy peaches but also notes of raisins and dried apricots. The flavor does not evolve much with multiple infusions, except for a distinct mangosteen flavor coming in by the third infusion accompanied by the softness of lotus root and rice.