Dry, this smells a lot like the other teas I received from White Antlers — kind of perfumey and like buffalo grass. It’s pretty brown leaf though and as Life in Teacup states, had been subjected to 7 years of dry Guangzhou storage. I can definitely smell the storage in the warmed and rinsed leaf with lots of traditional Chinese medicine character.
The brew tastes a lot like mushroom broth and smoky leather. Nuances of cognac fruitiness, sweet mushroom, walnut bread, wet rocks, eucalyptus and camphor, old flowers, spicy wood. It’s oily but a little flat feeling. Mild bitterness and an astringent undercurrent. Date-like returning sweetness only last for the first several infusions. Handles absent-minded infusions well. Very long-lasting stimulation.
For the price of 20c/g, this is a fair gem of an aging tea and an easy drinker with no heavy wet storage character. However, if you’re picky, there is a sour, lemony aftertaste that might deter. I’d personally like to try this with another 3-5 years of that same Guangzhou storage it had from 2008 to 2015.
Thank you White Antlers for sharing, and I do hope you come back soon!
Flavors: Brandy, Bread, Broth, Buffalo Grass, Camphor, Dark Chocolate, Dates, Eucalyptus, Fig, Flowers, Grain, Honeysuckle, Leather, Lemon, Medicinal, Mushrooms, Pleasantly Sour, Red Fruits, Savory, Smoked, Spicy, Walnut, Wet Rocks, Wood
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That’s a good price for old tree Mengsong with some age. Sometimes the sour lemony aftertaste is a sign that it’s in transition and about to show more aged character. Sometimes (if it tastes like lactic acid like a Belgian sour red ale) that it’s gotten too dry and would benefit from a few months of humidification. I had one tea, the 2006 xigui from clt that was undrinkably sour and I broke it up and put in a jar with a boveda and 2 months later it was amazing.
That’s a good price for old tree Mengsong with some age. Sometimes the sour lemony aftertaste is a sign that it’s in transition and about to show more aged character. Sometimes (if it tastes like lactic acid like a Belgian sour red ale) that it’s gotten too dry and would benefit from a few months of humidification. I had one tea, the 2006 xigui from clt that was undrinkably sour and I broke it up and put in a jar with a boveda and 2 months later it was amazing.