Leafhopper, this one is making me drool. Most of the Shanlinxi blacks I’ve had lean more towards papaya, and while this certainly has it, the tea gong fu or western is extremely thick and sweet. Western so far consisted of 3 min that became 4 min, 3 minutes again, and 4-5 min again. Gong fu was 25, 35, 25, 45, 50, 70, 90, 3 min.
I get more complex fruit and cocoa notes with some nice woody and hints of floral qualities gong fu, and a chocolate covered cherry flavor western. Sometimes I’d border to say maple syrup in some moments, and others chocolate syrup with a sweet aftertaste too. I can see someone write honey for the notes, but it’s undivorced from the chocolate sweetness, middling between milk and dark chocolate. There’s some really pleasant bitterness that occasionally sneaks up and textures the sweet flavor. I’m also getting the funnel cake quality that I’ve gotten in other Taiwanese blacks that’s a bit of an exaggeration.Either way, it reminds me of Cocoa Amore in some ways in a more pure form. This is easily the kind of tea I could live with, and which is actually harder to find online for an affordable price. My only complaint is that it’s not long lasting. I’ve not been able to get it more than 6 steeps gong fu as it lost strength after steep 5, and it begins to really lose lustre after steep 3 western. I’d easily rate this 96, but the fading quality puts it at a 90 for me. Definitely my favorite black of the collection I got so far.
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Caramelized Sugar, Cherry, Chocolate, Dark Bittersweet, Dark Chocolate, Fruity, Papaya, Plum, Raisins, Sweet, Tropical Fruit, Wood
Glad you enjoyed it! I also thought it was good, though probably closer to an 80 than a 90. I got cocoa, sweetness, some bitterness, faint florals, and that funnel cake/pastry note you mentioned, though no cherry that I can recall.