This tea merges nicely sweetness, smokyness and fruity sourness. Not super complex but still good. The fruityness mostly reminds me of dried apples and plums (like the dried friut my grandaunt used to make for us) that goes nicely with the smoke.
Just the drying mouthfeel in the first 2 steepings was a bit offputting but from the 3rd on cup it was gone or rather soft and velvety. Also the smokyness comes more foreward und balances the strong sweetness from the beginning.
Preparation:
2 short rinses to open up the leaves. Steepings: 10/ 10/ 15/ 20/ 25/ 25 (still going)
This way it was not bitter at all.
With another sample I did the following session: 1 rinse/ 25/ 20/ 20/ 30/ 30/ 50/ 50/ 60
That way I extracted much more bitterness and mineraly notes that merged in the 4th steeping into a flowery darkness. But with shorter rinses I enjoyed the tea way more and also longer.
From my beginner’s perspective this tea tastes quite similar to Teavivres 2006 Fenqing Raw Puerh Tuocha and also a bit like their Fenqing Ancient Tree Spring Chun Jian Raw Pu-erh Cake from 2012 (although that seems to be more bitter and spicy). I have to do a more in-depth taste test with these three teas!
Flavors: Apple, Plum, Smoke, Sour, Sweet
