2021 Bosch

Fruity and juicy. Fell asleep in between steepings, that would be the work of the COVID booster I got yesterday. I think there was good energy here but it got kind of muddled with my light fever. But the sitting nap was nice! Tranquil if a bit disorienting.

Pronounced huigan, sweet-bitter-astringent, later sour and saliva-inducing. It all lingers seemingly forever in my mouth.

Listening to Mt. Ambient Vs Spasm by Soichi Terada.

Gongfu!

Another that I had over my vacation on a virtual tea hangout. I’ve not tried the first Bosch before, from years back, but I know it’s very well loved so I simply had to try this one. I didn’t take notes since I was focused on conversation, but I really enjoyed it. I didn’t feel like there was much going on in terms of flavour – the steeps were rather soft in taste but with a more “grizzly” and hearty texture. As I sipped over the course of the six or seven steeps before the leaf was spent, I noticed that I started to feel very calm and relaxed.

It was a really interesting session for me as someone who doesn’t tend to focus much on the “body feeling” of tea – I put a lot of weight on taste and then just a little on texture. That makes sense, I guess, because professionally taste is just a huge part of my job. I just really appreciated how this one really made me stop and take notice of some of the things that I don’t typically fixate on in my session.

The hot leaves smell like sweet apricot/mango/tropical. Intense. As they cool I get more mushrooms.

1
Full, sweet and unripe. Very fruity. Intense. Wet leaves give me almost an alcoholic feeling.

2
Wet leaves: more hay and mushrooms. Good astringency and increased spiciness. Delicate huigan. White grapes. My head starts to slow down.
For now this reminds me of “boundless 2020 by EOT”.
Something tells me this tea needs to rest and mature a bit.

3
Sweet mushrooms aroma, then parfume/apricot as the leaves cool down.
Liquor is very sweet, slightly Cooling. A lot of unripe grapes. A sort of parfumey quality.
Not so intense. Delicate but persistent huigan. Mind numbness.

4
Aroma: strong apricot/perfume. Mushroomness is gone.
Liquor evolved showing different qualities: thicker body and very intense. More astringent and spicy. Drying. Strong fruity huigan in the throat and back of the month.

5
Aroma: peach, fermentation, flowers.
Swallowing the liquor gives me an interesting feedback.
Sweetness astringency and bitterness are all well integrated. It’s a bit drying and feels rough in the throat.

6
Spicy mushrooms are back. It’s interesting how the aroma keeps changing.
I feel nervous and stoned at the same time.
Melted ice fruity sweet pepper spicyness. Still going strong.

7
Now I’m picking up more honey.
Starting to lose intensity and introducing a more sharp astringency.
I feel a strong tension in my chest.

8
1 minute infusion.
A new sourness appears. Everything feels sharper.
I may have to stop as my anxiety is getting worse.

9
Much stronger honey. Milder and honeyed liquor.

10
Mild sweet honey.

11 12
The tea is still strong, but his character changed completely from the beginning. Mushroom-honey soup.

UPDATE 6 MONTHS LATER
The tea has changed a lot, and I find it very good. Flavours and aromas feel wild and keep changing all the time. The Qi is strong and relaxing. A lot of attention goes to the interesting mouthfeel and aftertaste.