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trying yet again. i am surprised this round. the tea is actually picking up a little base notes. i never thought it would happen. strong after taste. but still a light tea.

6 years old this spring.

still got great bite. good bass note in the cup. has an underlying darjeeling profile almost.

letting a few cups settle in at work. its starting to wake me up for sure.

very nice after taste still. highly floral. def lemon flavor in there

Dry leaf in a warmed gaiwan has that signature w2t/good young raw puerh smell. i wish we could get a candle made with that scent.
good energy. The first cup is soft and inviting. a sweetness almost like baby powder.
The smell of the empty cup after drinking smells of lilac and orchid maybe? anyway….floral.
infusions move along to a nice tingly slightly bitter vegetal brew, then (around steep 10 or so) get back to the sweetness, a sweetwater light brew.

i do one gram per 12-15 mL usually.

def a strong tea. great for the office because it gets me going. Mainly floral, with a hint of base notes (smelling the empty cup shows the base). go easy on the leaf or its a bitter bomb. lasts for many infusions. nothing special, but its in my work rotation.

this tea looks waaaaay too dark to be a 2015. so confused.,

i have brewed this in a gaiwan and one of my sheng clay tea pots. i have to say, the storage is really present with a gaiwan (i actually throw off the first three rinses) but my clay tea pots seem to mellow out the tea nicely and gives it much more character. this is well priced for an aged tea.

This tea has got me all jacked up at work this morning. I packed the gaiwan to the brim (once the leaf was wet it filled the gaiwan). This packs a great bitter punch to the face. Slightly sweet and mouth drying. I am tasting from the Gourd. I think if the cake is stone-pressed, then i just may pick one up.

I’m still figuring this tea out. I’ve had 5 sessions with it and still cant fully grasp it.
I just cant get this one flavor out of my mind when i drink it…..

Mint Skoal chewing tobacco. :-S

Hope i didnt ruin this tea for anyone. haha

This tea is a treat. Drink this by itself.

I put on some perpetual groove from 2012 and sat down for a session.

The dry leaf smells amazing. Cocoa. Toffee. It seriously smells like brownie mix. So sweet.

Wet leaf changes to a more roasty bark smell. With some coffee type notes.

Dry leaf is rolled and opens up quite a bit. Single leaf. No stems.

The liquor is amazing. I’m picking up all the smells of the dry and wet leaf combined. Slight astringency. Not much at all. I’m flash brewing in a gaiwan btw.

The liquor is a wonderful dark caramel color. Smells sweet and roasty. Wet leaf is dark dark brown. Dark as a shou puerh. I’m tasting earth, bark, toffee, cocoa, and something I can’t place and it’s driving me crazy. Almost like roasted macadamia nut.

I’ll keep going on this and save this tea for special occasions.

This is a fun tea. Not as sweet as the big red robe Mandala offers but just as roasty. Wood flavors and maltiness. Mineral taste as with all yancha. I can’t place the sweetness. It’s a nutty sweetness. Faint.
However you can play with this tea. Lots of leaf with flash brews or less leaf and longer brews. Gives very different liquors.
Nice Amber caramel color. Smooth finish with a little lingering malt on the back of the tongue.
Not much change from brew to brew using gongfu style.
(This was my first review so bare with me). :-P