Fo Shou

o Quantity: Half sample pack / 110 ml
o Water temperature: 90°C
o 3 infusions: 60, 90, 90 sec

Stream of consciousness notes (ie. don’t think too much, don’t care about grammar, just write what you are experiencing as you experience it)
o Dry leaf aroma: Sweet, sugar based candy with the faintest hint of cherry flavoring, background note is mineral, foreground is a creamy sugar note that is airy but bold. Other notes detected are honey, a hint of coconut, a hint of caramel, and some roasted nuttiness mixed in and buried within the sweetness. A faint hint of cotton candy is noticed when leaves are allowed to air out.
o Dry leaf aroma in heated gaiwan: light roasted note added on top of the notes above, dark cherry note added, as well.
o 1 sec wash
o Liquor color: brown that borders on tan, has a tinge of yellow. medium in value.
o Throat: soft sugar cane, faint cherries, faint caramel, incredibly sweet
o Wet leaf aroma: wet rocks, minerals, fresh greens, faint amount of flowers
o Liquor aroma: very warm and deep aroma of honey, cream and butter, faint fresh and overly buttery pastries, small amount of caramel
o Taste: minerals are sharp and hit first, not astringent, body is thin, mineral notes become more faint as notes of cream, honey, and caramel hit, small amount of floral notes hit towards the end of the sip. medium length and is more cooling than warming, overall mouthfeel is creamy

o 2nd infusion taste: you can tell immediately that the complexity has diminished a bit from the first infusion, same notes are present but with the distinct hot water aroma note added to it

o 3rd infusion taste: minerals evolve into a faint amount of honey, butter and flowers, mouthfeel is still creamy, medium length and even more cooling, overall the notes are not as strong, can detect a very small amount of cherry appearing at the end of the sip, no astringency

o 4th infusion taste: incredibly soft and smooth, all notes are faint – notes of butter arrive first and then minerals that remain for the entire sip, and honey makes an appearance close to the front but vanishes. overall a relaxing steep and not complex

o Spent leaf aroma: floral, minerals, wet leaves, mostly minerals.

Oh no! I wrote this tasting note a while back but forgot to post it. Sorry about that Gabriele.

The dry leaves a large and twisted, in different shades of pistachio, brown, and reddish. Wonderfully fruity lychee aroma with mineral and nut notes, slightly boozy.

The first brew has notes of pistachio, dried cherry, and a fairly strong mineral note. Slightly roasted. Medium orange infusion

Subsequent infusions gain a fragrant wood note and moderate sweetness. The mouthfeel is nice and thick and lingering taste and aroma. Slightly bitter with a hoppy flavor. Very hearty and reminds me a bit of a good beer.

Like all the samples I received from Nannuo Shan it was a very fine tea, and I am grateful for the opportunity to try them.

This was an interesting and subtle Yancha. Later steeps reminded me of a perfume I have with mineral tones, hints of bergamot with its citrus, spicy floral tones, spice and hints of aromatic wood. I prepared it gongfu style (2g/100ml) in a yixing pot but I think next time I would choose a gaiwan to better appreciate it. The dry leaf smelled very fresh and grainy. They were very large and thick and were loosely twisted and ranged in colour from dried up moss yellow green to dark grey toned chocolate.

My first steep was 60 seconds. The resulting broth smelled floral, a green cool floral like lilies or some orchids, with hints of hay cocoa and cream. This steep had a rather interesting mix of flavours with a mix of floral notes, wheatgrass, and plum with cream and cocoa underneath at first. As it cooled the tea added a hint of cinnamon, cherry and a very faint bit of mango to the flavour. The tea created a cooling sensation in the mouth.

The second steep (also 60s) was sweeter with more fruit and a bit of honey underneath. The floral notes were also stronger and mixed with the mineral notes to create a flavour that was slightly herbal. The spice and cream remained whereas the cocoa weakened significantly. I found a bit of peach in the aftertaste.

By the third steep (90s) the herbaceous floral blended with the fruit in a way that was subtle and quite perfumy. The cream was missing and hints of citrus appeared. The tea was spicy on the tongue and the peach once again appeared on the aftertaste.

This flavour profile continued into lasted steeps (90, 120, 180s) with the tea maintaining a mineral, floral, citrus, spice profile. The later steeps yielded a bit of aromatic wood and vegetal notes as well.

The flavour was never intense and I found the mineral notes to be quite intense at times with this tea, but I enjoyed the blend of fruit, floral, and mineral notes in this tea. Thank you very much Nannuoshan for the opportunity to try this tea.

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