93 Tasting Notes
The rinsed leaves and first steeps have a spicy/flowery aroma, somewhat reminiscent of Taiwanese high mountain oolongs. The steeps quickly move into something grassy and a quite astringent. Of course this tea is very young.
[edit] this tea is pretty green for a sheng. The leaves and brew feel almost like a green tea to me.
Really good, especially for 20$ per 250g cake! Beautiful big leaves which show pretty heavy oxidation. Rich honey and melon aromas, thick mouthfeel and thirst-quenching overall impression. Very easy drinking. No astringency, but long aftertaste. Keeps on infusing.
Nice. It has a frivolous flowery aspect that is strong after the rinse, and gradually fades in the later steeps, when the tea becomes more mineral, not so much vegetal. Not so much fruity and succulent, but more cooling and refreshing, hard to explain but I enjoy this tea. A little drying, but not in a bad way. Quite powerful.
Indeed, this seems like a classic MLX Dan Cong. It feels a little less roasted and more refined than some cheaper versions I have had of this, but the flavor profile is very recognizable. I feel that this typical flavor profile doesn’t really do it for me anymore. It’s nice, but I think I am more interested in those more buttery, flowery Dan Cong oolongs. The mouthfeel of this is lively and tingly, which is quite nice.
Flavors: Flowers, Stonefruit
I think this is a good basic, straightforward dianhong. It has the classical, smooth caramelly profile and is robust. The leaves look cool. I would also say that it is a bit boring though. I also have a Yunnan black bi luo chun from Yunnan Sourcing that looks very similar to this (and is pretty cheap as well), and that one is so much more interesting and aromatic, with much more flowery, spicy and peaty notes going on. So I don’t think this deserves the name ‘top grade’. Nice tea for grandpastyling at work though.
Flavors: Caramel, Honey
Preparation
Another Yunnan bud red tea from Ebay. As described, this tea has a sweetness of honey. The texture is nicely thick. Aromatics are a little nutty/spicy, in the department of pistachio and muscat/nutmeg. I think I can now say that I am more of a fan of the more leafy Dianhongs, I like a little more body and something towards bitterness/astringency when I drink a red tea. Good tea though.
Preparation
Some tobacco, somewhat herbal, no basement notes, unlike the other Liming Bajiaoting teas around the same age that I have had (it came from Moylor, I have no idea about the storage). Gentle astringency that feels pleasant yet nicely substantial. It is grippy in the mouth without drying. I like it, especially for the price (I payed 19$ per cake, it seems they have doubled that price now yet still claiming it has a discount of 50%. Funny webshop.).
Flavors: Herbs, Tobacco
Preparation
I really like this. It is sweet and fruity and has a thick, sticky mouthfeel that makes it feel engaging and substantial. Over subsequent brews it gets pretty vegetal or hayish, which I don’t really like. I’m clearly most enjoying the first infusions. Good tea for its price I think (I got one for around 30$, and another one for less on 11/11).
Flavors: Fruity, Hay, Sweet, Thick, Vegetal
I bought this through Moylor. It is undoubtedly a good ripe. Some nice earthy huigan. I taste little that really stands out. For me this is a little on the milky side but I’m sure that’s a personal thing. Also it has little fruitiness. I don’t know but perhaps that can develop with age?