I had this tea almost exactly three months ago and found it quite underwhelming in both mouthfeel and cha qi. Today it fared significantly better, much better in fact. The taste seemed to have improved over time and the body seems decent too. Cha qi is a bit too rushy and aggressive for my liking, but it’s not bad at all. Aftertaste is also stronger and more complex than I remember. A remarkable change in 3 months.
The aromas of this tea are quite sweet and floral with notes of apricot, meadow, forest floor and menthol especially. Drinking the rinse shows only hints of the tea’s potential, it is creamy, metallic, tart and pine-like. All those flavours are present later on too, but they are complemented by many more, including mineral, grassy, medicinal, salty and sour ones. The dominant flavour is sweet though. There is a nice earthy bitterness and moderate astringency. At some points the taste reminds me of green tea, but it is much more intense of course. The aftertaste is expansive, vegetal, woody, metallic and fragrant. The bitterness and sweetness also persist and some huigan is present too. One new flavour I notice in the aftertaste is green apple with its crispness.
The mouthfeel starts watery in first 3 infusions. It is also somewhat soapy, sticky and powdery. I would say it is also syrupy without being too thick if that makes sense. Infusions 4 to 6 have a slightly thicker body and a soothing and salivating mouthfeel. After swallowing I get a unique feeling that I am struggling to describe in English (what are good antonyms of slippery? I can’t find any suitable ones.). It is definitely dry and sticky, but that doesn’t quite cut it.
I felt the cha qi in the chest first, then as a pressure in my head, later spreading throughout whole body. It is quite an energizing and rushy tea overall. Even though I didn’t feel defocused, when I stood up I felt dizzy. I also found it a little psychedelic to be honest.
Overall, Pussy is a fairly sweet and energizing tea with decent complexity, unique mouthfeel and medium body. I still don’t think I enjoy it as much as several other teas at similar prices, but after this session I can definitely appreciate its chararacter much more, both in the posive and negative aspects.
Since it’s late already, I think I will cut the session short after 6 steeps and finish in the morning. If I have some extra thoughts, I will add them later.
Flavors: Apricot, Astringent, Bitter, Cream, Drying, Earth, Floral, Flowers, Forest Floor, Grass, Green Apple, Honey, Medicinal, Menthol, Metallic, Mineral, Pine, Pleasantly Sour, Salt, Sweet, Tart, Vegetal, Wood
