Spring 2023: The dry leaves don’t have much aroma but look very nice. The tea does smell like stewed fruit once brewed, but not a lot of fruit in the taste. This tea leans more vegetal/herbal. Strong notes of celery and herbs like parsley and oregano. Nuttiness in the background, with a good amount of sweetness which is kind of masked by the herbal notes. Maybe some lemongrass. I can agree with previous reviewer that there are flavors of grilled vegetables, green pepper, and a whisper of smoke.
This is a very interesting tea overall, as I haven’t had too many with this kind of flavor profile. I can see why maybe puerh drinkers would enjoy this, and I would venture to guess that the parsley/oregano herbal notes in this tea are the same kind of notes which translate into the “medicinal” notes commonly found in puerh teas. I think I see a similarity there.
Definitely possesses some of the “green chestnut” qualities and I get some sauteed onions with hints of sweet caramelization, and some celery notes as well.