Thanks a bunch to nannuoshan for this sample! The dry leaf is a nice mixture of green and gold. I only had enough sample for one session…about 6g. I rinsed the leaf twice at 5 seconds each and then steeped it for 5 seconds. Because of my gooseneck kettle, I was barely able to finish pouring the water over it at 5 seconds! You have to be quick!
The wet leaf smells like dried fruits! The liquor is a pretty amber color. There were some other reviews about this one hitting strong after 5 seconds, so I went more gradually than usual and had three or so 5-second steeps, and then I started to add time with a 15-second steep and then a 25-second steep and so on.
From the beginning, it tastes like dried fruits and apricot. There’s a hint of sheng bitterness, but the short infusions prevent it from overpowering the flavor. At the 25-second steep, I noticed it was getting sweeter and that it was having a calming effect on me. It just kept going and going, getting sweeter and sweeter. I lost count of how many infusions I enjoyed. I was going to stop a number of times, but the developing sweetness kept calling to me, making me steep it “just one more time”, which actually became several times! The spent leaves are whole leaves and they look so fresh, like they were picked yesterday.
With longer steeps, initially there was more bitterness. I think it would be worth it to let this one age for a couple more years to mellow it out, especially since that dried fruit flavor is so delicious! I may pick some up with that in mind!
Pics of the session:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97273956@N03/15911361573/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97273956@N03/16344088350/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97273956@N03/16344088310/
Sounds great