On the whole, Mengku Huang Shan is just like I remember it – pungent, thick and cooling. If anything, it has even more pronounced bitterness. However, it is clearly undergoing a transition. The taste is a mixed bag with fewer notes that would stick out. The soup is a bit cloudy initially with orange colour and dark green hints.
In the aroma, I can see the biggest departure, the dominant scents are now in the realm of persimmon, hot hay, compost, and forest. The rinse has a character that’s quite reminiscent of earlier sessions – it is fruity, grass, tart, and cooling. However, already in the first infusion the profile is more like a blend of hazelnut, forest, pine wood, thyme. It is bitter too, but not as much as the subsequent ones. Aftertaste has a strong umami and a touch of tangerine to it.
Bulk of the session then steers towards a bitter, vegetal (but not very green) profile with substantial astringency, nice minerality and a deep but mild tobacco sweetness.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Compost, Forest Floor, Fruity, Grass, Hazelnut, Hot Hay, Mineral, Pine, Tangerine, Tart, Thyme, Tobacco, Umami, Vegetal, Wood