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Super temperamental, not sure if its inconsistency with batches or my brewing or a combination (had lots of variances in smell and taste batch to batch with other teas from adagio in the past) . Nothing special, plain and simple, gong fu pretty well surprisingly and 120% in need of a rinse very prone to going bitter super quick. Make sure to let fanning/dustings to pour of with the rinse and I might even do two. Once I treated it like a bai hao (Infusions as quick as possible and water as hot as possible) it actually yielded a much better cup and fairly fruity as well. I feel like im chasing the dragon with this one though, the first time it brewed an amazing sample tasted like a dancong on steroids(super peachy, apricoty, sweet, floral) so then ended up buying a bunch because it was my new favorite(more than I care to admit) and now at best with a lot of time and effort, its a sub par fruit darjeeling profile.

-Preface
Literally my first sheng so no reference point. I remember hearing somewhere shengs under 10 years old are undrinkable so I was bracing myself. I was shocked to see what a difference sheng and shou are in appearance and smell of both dry and wet leaves as well as liqueur, the liqueur was night and day. Onto to the review
-Review
The dry leaves smelt of slight smoky/woodsy/dry like the day after a camp fire. The first few steepings were smokey but not overpowering. Then after a few more the infamous sour/bitterness of young sheng ive been hearing about. It wasn’t as unpleasant as I had imagined, in fact it reminded me of good dark extra virgin fruity olive oil with the same spiciness at the end.
Overall my first sheng experience so cant give a numerical rating but it would not be something I craved normally, It might be something Id reach for after a heavy meal and did not feel like a shou or perhaps paired with fruits for some reason I think it would be good with a bowl of juicy melons(random).

If you have tried Laoshan Black this will be nothing new flavor profile wise(not that it is a bad thing) but being $12.5/oz vs Laoshan Black $8.5/oz for the price being 50% higher it is not 50% better or even different for that matter. Once again I like the tea but only difference I could discern was the hint of scotch at the tail end which was the main flavor I was looking for. The tea didnt seems to develop over the different infusions like I would have hoped as with other oolongs (Dancong and TGY particularly). Maybe I had to high of expectations.

All and all not a bad tea but not worth the price IMO.

-Preface
I’m still getting to know Pu-Erh, shu and sheng, I have only tried about half a dozen different teas over the last few months .
-Review
The dry leaf smells sweet and inviting, nothing like the first Pu erh I tried by adagio which smelled fishy. I rinse twice and Gongfu style I get rich smooth oily chocolately notes and Western brew I get earthy, bold, coffesque richness. As with other pue erhs I get a really unique buzz and of course the stomach gurgles.
-Soapbox
Overall my favorite shu to date( rishi’s tuo cha are actually second) and at $8/50g a price you cant beat not to mention it’s organic(not that organic means its better quality but it certainly isn’t a bad thing) since Im just starting in pu erh and learning about how its made until I familiarize myself and can afford to drink the good stuff(which will certainly not be"certified oragnic") I like the reassurance of knowing an inspector has at least walked through the production line once.

-Preface
Im fairly new(3 months or so) to Pu erh, Sheng and Shu a like but I already have my preferences. I am not getting the same notes as other reviewers, I rinsed twice both times, once tried gongfu yesterday ( 4 g dry leaf /100 mL multiple quick infusions) and also today western style ( 4 g dry leaf / 240 mL 5/6/6 min infusion).
-Review
This ripened pu erh has a fruity taste to it that reminded me of mulled wine or warmed berries and a sour quality of raw cacao (not dark chocolate but 90-100% cacao bars). It was still fairly smooth and not bitter in the least but that fruity/sour taste is not something I look for especially in a pu erh in the morning. I the western style brew mellowed out the sour fruity taste and seemed to bring the other earthy qualities I enjoy but still not my favorite. I will keep experimenting with brewing time/water/etc. Overall nothing terrible I can appreciate the quality and see why others like it, hate to use a cheesy line but “Not my cup of Tea” seems appropriate.

The most complex black tea I have ever tasted(not to mention super high quality deep ruby red purple whole un broken leaves), it develops almost like an oolong over multiple fast gongfu steepings. First a whisper of cinnamon spice then fruity like a date or raison then the winter green/minty taste creeps in and has a cooling effect.

The first time I brewed it western style in my gaiwan for 2 mins and it tasted of super strong camphor in a bad way. This is my second tasting/review and this time around I brewed it differently but also the dry leaf didn’t smell as strong either. The taiwanese pack their teas for extreme freshness, in a completely air free sealed foil(all my jade and high mt oolong came in these rock hard foil bags) and I maybe crazy but every taiwanese tea has tasted the strongest (whether for good or bad) upon that first opening. This review comes the day after I opened and im glad I gave this a second chance. Also excited to log more once ive experimented with steeping times.

So far I can recommend 4g dry leaf to 100 ml 195 degree water in a gaiwan 1 min steeping increasing by 30 seconds after 2-3 steepings (this flavor profile is way to unique for a yixing unless you plan on dedicating it to this tea).