This is my first aged sheng that I have purchased. I’ve been drinking it every few days for about the last month and the initial rinse smell comes across as the flavor of hominy or maize which I find odd because I don’t know that corn is a component of Asian cuisine. In fact I’m quite certain it is strictly “new world”. At any rate the tea has a good number of sticks in it but as mentioned the leaves are huge and seem to be rolled length wise so that even the leaves take on the appearance of sticks until infused and they open up. The wet leaves even after a few infusions seem to feel dry, and not supple which is likely because of the the age of the leaves. The liquor of the tea is very smooth and mouth filling, and almost crystal clear amber to a darker more stout like color depending on the amount of liquid in a white cup.