81/100 for the pleasant smoothness but the lack of standout qualities. A great tea for the money, more brothy than sour, almost like the middle steeps of a buttery Bao Zhong , this tea could age into something rich and sweet given some time.
Still on the green side both visually and flavor wise in October 2017, my recent delivery of this tea brews a rounded, pleasant tea. Leaf grade/size is variable but nothing giant or too damaged. Some care was taken when making these cakes and I can imagine Canton feels that anything with their company name on it has to be Good. Overall a good tea, not nearly as sour as their current Wu Jia single origin, this is a sweet, thick Sheng that would age up into something rich and powerful. Hyper affordable, this and their house Shu are both the best quality:cost ratio teas I’ve bought. Neither is stunning, both are wonderful. This would be a good ‘show someone the less challenging sides of Sheng’ tea and is affordable enough to be a gift cake. This also might be one of those Shengs that could be the basis for a vegetable soup broth.
Celadon Teapot – 240ml – 8g – 15-second rinse, rest for a minute or two.
15s/210’ – Vanilla, strong apricot, sweet, thick, wet hay (in the good sense), heartwood, Dried longan, savory notes, clean brothyness. Pours a bit cloudy. Leaves smell of sour melon, sweetgrass, buffalo grass, nectar, Apricot.
10s/210’-mint, sweet wood, sweetgrass, smelling some of the current storage on it in a good way, not soil but wet forest floor, sour flavors coming out more. Still thick, slightly less sweet, but coating. Has a sour that appears after you swallow. A bit astringent in here, maybe just young, maybe too hot H20.
25s/205 -
Flavors: Apricot, Broth, Green Wood, Hay, Nectar, Pleasantly Sour, Sweet, Warm Grass, Thick, Vanilla
