I do believe this, now 19 yr old, sheng has substantially improved over the last 4 years that I’ve had it in my cupboard (at 65% RH), and now I find the aroma pleasing, the brewed liquor to be smooth, sweet, & round in the mouth, and the flavor to be discernibly tea-like with a note of celery, and something I would drink with regularity. No astringency, bitterness, fishiness, or sourness. Which is all good, since I somehow ended up with two full 357g cakes of it! My records show I paid $45 for the first (drinking now), $70 for the second (a month later), and now (Feb 2025) still for sale by YS at $85, assuming one can get it into the USA at all. This time I used 5g dry leaf and 8oz boiling alpine spring water for 15s, 15s, 30s, and 90s (after a 10s rinse). All using a steel infusion basket in a porcelain teacup. The resulting amber liquor was crystal clear and as fragrant as the dry leaf. I’m sure another infusion or three would tasty, too. Rating this as 80.
Flavors: Celery, Smooth, Tea
