Yum. I don’t have much to add to all the wonderful flavor notes here, but I enjoyed this gong fu session much-much. I am beginning to feel cozily familiar with the young-to-middle-aged sheng taste of (vaguely) apricot/astringency/hay. There are shengs that hum more and less beautifully in that range, in the way “oolong taste” can leave me waiting at the bus stop or vibrate me right into a heap of pleasure. This is Vibrational Sheng Taste.
Of course: I say vibrational and then go and admit that I didn’t ackshually get much vibey qi outta the thing. Okay by me, though — the flavor profile and steeps-for-days kept me pretty darn happy.
I do kind of wonder what this is, right? I find W2T’s marketing incredibly visually and emotionally appealing, but then equally frustrating from an educational and knowledge-building perspective: What regions and factories do I find delicious? Well, uh…
/points at sexy-lip bing
/shrugs
derk. thank you once again for your generous sharing. <3
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Sometimes if you ask Paul directly on IG for the region he’ll tell you.
I found it really frustrating at first when he stopped explicitly listing the regions – not sure at what point it stopped bugging me as much. Maybe when I started noticing the overlap of tasting notes between the teas I was liking? It’s definitely one of his most polarizing sales techniques, though in some ways it’s freeing.
I’m probably buying sheng from regions I would normally skip because of negative taste associations I have with their region or because they’re not my “preferred” region. …but on the same hand, not knowing that doesn’t allow me to challenge those preconceptions.
Good points! I do like the “blind tasting” aspect of it, as it takes away any expectation or judgment. But being able to take the blindfold off once you’ve found something you love also seems valuable — so much potential delight and surprise! It’s a tough one.
Sometimes if you ask Paul directly on IG for the region he’ll tell you.
I found it really frustrating at first when he stopped explicitly listing the regions – not sure at what point it stopped bugging me as much. Maybe when I started noticing the overlap of tasting notes between the teas I was liking? It’s definitely one of his most polarizing sales techniques, though in some ways it’s freeing.
I’m probably buying sheng from regions I would normally skip because of negative taste associations I have with their region or because they’re not my “preferred” region. …but on the same hand, not knowing that doesn’t allow me to challenge those preconceptions.
Good points! I do like the “blind tasting” aspect of it, as it takes away any expectation or judgment. But being able to take the blindfold off once you’ve found something you love also seems valuable — so much potential delight and surprise! It’s a tough one.