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Moving on to blind sample D

This sheng puerh has a meadowy, plummy date aroma to the dry leaf, strawlike with a rich fruity sweetness. Warming brings a sharp tang like dried cherries and prunes. Rinsing turns the leaf more pungent with eggplant, olive, osmanthus and marshmallow root.

Aromas and tastes are consistent throughout steeps. On the nose I get strong notes of grilled peach and grilled eggplant, wet hay. In the mouth, the tea has a deep, rich taste up front of hay, purple flowers, marshmallow with a citrusy feeling. The body is viscous and soft with a bitterness that is not so well integrated. It does linger and is a bit intrusive right now but I think it will complement the tea as it transforms with age (if it ages well – I think this might be a sheng subjected to new methods of processing as there is some visible oxidation and prominent aroma). Burps early in the session, no stomach discomfort.

This leaf has enough strength to last several infusions but I did lose interest at some point and didn’t steep it out. The way the tea presents its character and bitterness up front, along with its energy, has me thinking this is bush tea or young tree. Also, the leaf has a thin, flimsy structure, but I do see a few fat, chunky buds that look like they’re from a different pick. Processing isn’t the best – plenty of scorch marks. A difficult to describe intensity moves through my body that has me thinking Menghai region but I’m definitely not confident in that assessment.

It’s actually a decent tea but not my jam. I think I’ll brew up the remainder of the sample as iced tea.

One more blind sheng sample to go!

In contrast to Roswell Strange’s experience of sweaty body odor and bile,

I am eating this straight outta the bag with a spoon.

It’s that good.

I want to make a thick syrup out of it for drizzling on something. Jicama, grapefuit and avocado salad? Papaya? Unsweetened yogurt? My body? Was that too far?

It is passion fruit, after all.

Bold and colorful flavor. Like most Thai teas, this is forward and strong. It oozes cheerful character and holds nothing back. The passionfruit taste is from another world. Those little starflowers pack a punch of spicy-minty herbaceous marigold. High energy brew. I had this mid-morning and couldn’t sleep that night.

Cool. Meadowy Baimudan Hawaiian style. All kinds of stuff going on here and I can’t read my handwritten note from last week. Pristine leaf, very clean feeling. Leaf aromas are in your face and funky. Taste is much more subtle and fresh like accented springwater, complex. Sweetness is a thin, sparkling and cool sensation. Would try again! Thanks again, beerandbeancurd :)

Not feeling too inspired to type up a decent note. Definitely no fault of the tea. It’s a tropical treat with some black tea suede-malt lean but also kind of like a dancong oolong. Feels most similar to an assamica Yunnan yellow tea rather than those from other regions of China. Really complex aromas and textures. It goes and goes… Content to escape in my mind to all the different tropical regions of the world.

Thank you beerandbeancurd. This is lovely.

Spring 2022 harvest, a freebie with my order. Thank you!

Round, fluffy-sweet and silky spring water with smooth fruity notes I can see as lychee and muscat grape. Threads of malt and chocolate, cinnamon and mild cardamom. Tangy, mineral, sparkling, playful tannins. Osmanthus in bottom of cup. Very clean, leathery aftertaste.

Excellent tea! I only drank this prepared in a 60mL gaiwan with 2.5g each time. Good longevity for a red tea this way.

All ass, all the time. Straight from the horse’s butt.

This special style of tea is the clearest example of active fermentation funk I’ve ever experienced.

Still have enough left from beerandbeancurd to sample again and give a more appropriate review if I feel up to it.

See:
https://steepster.com/teas/what-cha/69369-2015-bancha-goishicha-dark-tea
https://steepster.com/teas/yunomi/51643-furyu-bancha-goishicha

Sample C

Tastes like a wild sheng or a purple leaf cultivar, but from where?? Really nice touch of soft floral-woody cinnamon with some ooey gooey baked plum-peach to the warmed leaf. At first drying and very juicy, it takes a few steeps to settle into character — let’s call it “Leathery Osmanthus atop a Bed of Straw and scented with True Cinnamon”. Main vibe skews savory, kind of like roasted chicken? A little purplish bitterness that numbs. Mineral. At times coppery metallic. Autumn tea crosses my mind. The sweetness in the cooling huigan reminds me of peppermint. The aroma and aftertaste really nail down that Leathery Osmanthus association.

A good one, not that any of the blind samples so far have been bad. I was simply feeling this one today <3 Easy drinker for me, not too complex but alluring. Feels like it would age well enough.

At the end of session, very strong compulsion to listen to
Depeche Mode – Enjoy the Silence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGSKrC7dGcY

Edited to add: the energy of this one is deceptively strong. I felt normal while drinking this. Hours later, I experienced levels of wackiness I haven’t felt in ages. Loaded with caffeine but somewhat tempered by other compounds. Idk, the more I think about how it made me feel, I’m not too keen on it. Like some Jingmai teas I’ve had, energy is akin to ephedrine. Jingle-jangle.

Excellent flavored tea! Like little cream puffs of honeylemon sunfluff with just enough coppery kick from the black tea and some sweet tangy cream from the freeze-dried yogurt. Seamless cup.

One lemon for another — what a treat, gmathis. Thank you!