Dry – Abandoned old wood cabin in the tropics, spice-wood.
Wet – Thick earth notes, spicy-wood notes, bitter wood notes and sweetness.
Liquor – Burgundy.
Gonfu Style — 2 rinses (first 3 secs and 2 secs rest and second just a quick wash)
The tea started with very assertive spicy-wood notes, earth notes with very apparent sweetness and feels smooth going down. Some astringency was present, but it only helped the spicy notes and later the camphor sensation.
The second and third steeps (partly 4th as well), were smoother but maintaining the earthy and wood notes with spicy background. Allowing time between cups allowed me to appreciate the lasting sweetness and perhaps notice some very faint notes I have yet to identify.
Later steeps were gentler that previously, but still assertive to its storage background. No musky notes, just plain wood and earth, with a a sweet finish and lots of camphor.
Final Notes
First sip was confusing and puzzling since I’ve never had a wet storage Sheng like this, I’ve had the occasional ‘oh, there are some floral notes, honey… and ughh, there you are, moist rotting wood note, bitter and saddening’. By the second steep I was beginning to enjoy the sweetness but was still puzzled/bothered by the deep wood notes. By the third,…. I told myself “This Sheng makes a great Shou!” LOL.
Bottom line, if you are all about dry storage… stay away, you’ll just have a bad day. If you are into wood and somewhat spicy notes Shou, I’d try this one.
Flavors: Cedar, Earth, Sweet, Wood
Preparation
Comments
You both should try it! If you like Shou/Earthy Sheng this is it. No musty/wet wood scent, just old scent.
Agreed! I’ve had two types of wet storage before this one. The first type is weak sheng, like the wetter storage sucked the life away from the Sheng. The second is ‘dirty’ Sheng, the one that tastes like mulch and has the scent of rotting leaves on partially dried mud. This one to me resembled a clean Shou. I’m glad I got a sample, I would otherwise avoided because of those experiences.
I really need to try this!
Nice review! I’ve been craving an earthy sheng… I’ll put this one on the list!
You both should try it! If you like Shou/Earthy Sheng this is it. No musty/wet wood scent, just old scent.
I sort of enjoyed this tea. Nice example of wet storage.
Agreed! I’ve had two types of wet storage before this one. The first type is weak sheng, like the wetter storage sucked the life away from the Sheng. The second is ‘dirty’ Sheng, the one that tastes like mulch and has the scent of rotting leaves on partially dried mud. This one to me resembled a clean Shou. I’m glad I got a sample, I would otherwise avoided because of those experiences.
JC, i finally tried it last night today morning. Love it. Who knew after such mixed reviews. Wet/soil notes are faint and didnt bother me at all. maybe because i got lots of plants and like to play with soil lol. really not strong soil and soo sweet and smooth