Hope Crimson Lotus continues to deliver more teas like this one. Total blind buy without sampling, but based on other Jingmai teas I’ve had from Crimson Lotus I couldn’t pass up an 8-year old Jingmai maocha. It was totally worth the gamble. And it paid off! Wow! High quality material, clean, no off flavors, really good sheng.
This is an interesting tea. At first I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but don’t think I used enough tea initially so I held back those tasting notes, and used a lot more tea in later sessions.
It brews a really nice amber color, on the lighter side of amber, but what I expect from a 2008ish sheng. Signature Jingmai honeysuckle and honeydew, less-so than some other younger Jingmai shengs, and an underlying creaminess that brings it all together.
It still leans to the bitter side but quickly turns into sweetness, and a gentle astringency that causes my mouth to water…if a tea can be juicy then this one is juicy. Nice mouth buzz from first 4-5 steepings that fades away after that. Very long lasting pleasant aftertaste, one that you don’t want to eat anything because it may ruin your palate and the flavors you’re enjoying. This speaks to the concentration of polyphenols and minerals in these leaves. High quality stuff! I absolutely love these aspects of shengs, and what I look most for in mid-age shengs.
Large thick and intact leaves, beautiful to look at.
Very slight huigan, no camphor, qi is relaxing and gentle. Not getting any caffeine kicks or jitters, and around steeping 10 I started getting a bit tea-buzzed and had to eat something.
After about 12 steepings it started getting straight bitter, which means I probably need to be fine-tune my steepings later in each session, or pay attention more. In my own defense, this tea had me buzzed :) Some longevity! Its outlasted me every single time with 12+ steepings consistently.
The strength and qualities of this tea give me a really good sense that it has lots of potential for long-term aging, and that its not even close to hitting its peak. But after 8 years, it also has me wondering if there is a bit of younger material blended in? How can this tea reach this level of bitterness after 8 years as maocha?
High quality material, glad it was left to age in Jingmai for 8 years. I’m really looking forward to growing with this tea, and only wish I had more!!
Flavors: Apricot, Astringent, Bamboo, Bitter, Chestnut, Creamy, Honey, Honeydew, Honeysuckle, Sugarcane, Tannic
