By ordering this tea I was moderately sure that this might be something to become my favourite yunnan black but it ended up not to be the case. It is very-very good though, do not take me wrong. Just that it has some features that prevent it from being “all-time-favourite”.
The most prominent featurs of Golden Fleece, I’d say, are its smell and its aftertaste. Such a strong smeel of dry leaf is not something one expects from unflavored tea. I can’t really place what it smells like other than “Golden Fleece” (lol I know, not much of a comparison) but it certainly is nice.
Speaking of the afertaste – it IS the most complex aftertaste I have ever experienced and there is no yunnan black comparable to this that I know of but at the same time it is kinda heavy. You wouldn’t be able to enjoy a session and just go with your daily routine. THIS will linger on your tongue for hours. While the aftertaste is undeniably great, it is not always desirable to have it there for such a long time.
Also video directions on the site are kind of misleading. I hadn’t had much success with the taste using as little tea as shown there. Being generous while measuring up next portion helped a lot.
And the most important part – the foreground of Golden Fleece is, to me, inferior to Fengqing 58 Classic. It is, of course, great(as pretty much everything from Verdant), but lightness and sweetness of fengqing is unparalleled, imo, and Fleece cannot really reach the level of enjoyment I had with Fengqing.
Overall: a really great tea but due to high cost and an aftertaste that is a bit too strong for its own good – not an “everyday” one. Maybe a tea for “once a week”.
