I figured I had better try my 25g sample of this in case I feel the need to immediately buy a cake of it. (Note to self: you do NOT actually need any more tea!)
The scent of the dry leaf when I opened up the package was really remarkable – very sweet and slightly floral/vegetal. I put 5g in my 100ml gaiwan, did one quick rinse, and then steeps of 10, 15, 20, 20, 25, 30… seconds. I started out with boiling water, and then dropped down to 80-90deg water a few steeps in when it started to get a bit bitter on me.
The first infusion was really light, flavour-wise, but had a lovely texture: fresh, crisp, clean. The next few infusions developed some stronger flavours – a bit vegetal, a bit of apricot, a bit of that zingy fresh sheng flavour – but maintained that sense of airy expansiveness in my mouth/head. Once I dropped the temperature, it settled down into a sweeter flavour and thicker mouthfeel, with a sweet coating building up on the back of my throat. The body feeling for me is warm and mellow, and I’m starting to feel a bit hungry.
This is pretty tasty, but I’m not convinced I need to aquire a cake of it (thank goodness). I’ll have to try the rest of my spring 2015 samples first and see how they all compare. :)
Flavors: Apricot, Sweet, Vegetal
