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This is one of a few Zheng Shan Xiao Zhongs that I bought at the end of 2019, and it’s from the spring of that year. I didn’t know that Fujian black teas don’t tend to age as well as those from Yunnan, so they should be consumed more quickly. 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, and 120 seconds.

The dry aroma is of baked sweet potato, caramel, chocolate, and malt. The first steep has notes of sweet potato, caramel, chocolate, malt, rye bread, and earth. The aroma is much stronger than the taste, which is fairly light. The next steep takes an unusual turn, adding notes of glazed carrots and vegetal umami while maintaining those savoury sweet potato, chocolate, and bready flavours. The veggies are a bit less prominent in the next couple steeps, though they’re still present, and there’s a long aftertaste of sweet potato and stevia. Carrot, sweet potato, brown sugar, other starchy vegetables, earth, and malt feature in the next few rounds. The final steeps have notes of malt, minerals, earth, tannins, wood, and faint sweet potato.

While I enjoyed the sweet potato and chocolate in this tea, its weird vegetal notes and high amount of sweetness put me off. I’m not sure if these things are due to age or to processing, but for me, they take away from the balance of the tea. Derk, Daylon, and Martin, let me know if you want a sample after reading this glowing review. :)