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I usually like smoky and spicy puer but this did not satisfy my craving. Medium body, smooth finish, and slightly sour I felt this tea is meant for drinkers who enjoy darker brews of coffee or smoke tobacco. It definitely has this old whiskey/scotch barrel flavor that provides this tea with a little vintage flavor.

Quite the unique take on Tie Guan Yin, this creamy broth was very delightful. I felt the slick almost velvety texture of the broth cover my tongue which brought on these very vegetal, nutty notes. It’s a beautifully handmade tea which also has hints of floral notes and soy.

A good start to getting into puer to notice all that goes into processing such fine tea. It has all the unique characteristics of a good raw pu’er and it is very fresh and cooling. After every breath I took, I felt a smokey minty feeling in my mouth and throat. It’s crisp and very light in its astringency. This young gushu is made from 600 year old trees from Bing Dao so I can certainly see the result of this tea to be very satisfactory.

While quite aromatic with little to no astringency, I did not find this tea satisfying to my palate. I didn’t understand the name of this tea because it showed neither of the characteristics of milk or cream. Perhaps alcohol but there wasn’t much of a promise. I can see this as a daily drinker but it just wasn’t for me.

It’s difficult to categorize this tea in any category but by its level of oxidation, the tea definitely resembles a black tea. The astringency like with black teas is not even apparent in this tea which is what I love about it. It’s smooth, it covers the tongue, and has an interesting deep finish in the back of the throat. It’s also a tea from Korea which is what even surprised me more. I was told at a tea meet up that this was Korea’s attempt at creating pu’er but alas the failure became a beautiful accident.

The taste is unique and very calming. The broth is very light but also slightly viscous or thick in the mouth if only a little. There is weight to the broth which douses the tongue full of nostalgic memories of night skies. The taste is very balanced and round. The aroma is very flowery and somewhat dewy like grass in the early morning. This tea brings me a sense of calm.