This is a tasty tea with earthy notes and I think notes of dark chocolate. Other reviewers have said mushrooms, I didn’t find these but then again I wasn’t really paying attention. Dark chocolate notes are easy to spot and fairly common in earthy shou. The tea broth is rich and thick with I think what you would describe as a good mouthfeel. It was a bit more earthy than expected but then again I used more tea than usual by about a third. In any case this tea is an excellent value. I think I only paid $18.
I brewed this tea seven times in a 207ml Taiwan Clay Teapot with 9.5g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a long rinse to break up the tea and gave it a ten minute rest. I steeped it for 10 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 30 sec, 1 min, and 2 min. Judging by the strength of the seventh steep I would guess that this tea had at least five more steeps in it had I wanted to continue.
Flavors: Dark Chocolate, Earth
I also found this tea to be a good value. Seriously considering buying a couple during the black Friday sale for everyday drinking!