1996 CNNP Green in Orange 7532

I leave for vacation very soon, and I had a six hour safety course to complete before hand. This was the perfect time for a looong session. I brought this out, and I was pretty excited to try it out. I opened the jar and took in a sweet woodsy aroma with some spice in the background. I warmed the Jianshui up and placed a decent amount inside. I lifted the lid and took in an amazing aroma! The scent began with a sweet aged profile. I then picked up the “oaky” whiskey barrel scent, and then a tasty finish of caramel and vanilla bean. I also noted an odd scent. I was in Oklahoma City once, and they had an orchid named the “Amazon Orchid” at their Botanical Gardens. This flower had such a peculiar scent that was both sweet and spiced. The warmed leaf took me back to the scent of that orchid. I returned back to my session and washed the leaves once. The steeped leaves are a dark crimson and carry such a scrumptious scent. I picked up most of the same tones as earlier except now I could take in some pipe tobacco and mulled cider. I was pretty excited to brew this up. The initial sip was a very full body. The flavor was thick and lasting. This tea brews up a rusted orange color. The session is relatively consistent with its flavor profile. I picked up a nice oak median with some drying sensations. The brew has sweet tones of sugarcane and sap, and spiced tones with a fibrous astringency. This brew keeps a steady wood taste with a nice pleasant huigan. The qi is deep and warming with nice chest compression. This is a slow building qi and just follows you throughout the session. The qi didn’t overwhelm nor take off; it was just kinda in the back of the head and at heart center. The session lasted two hours and forty minutes until it became flat (the timer of the course assisted with a reliable timeline). I really liked this tea, and it was a nice smooth session. However, this wasn’t spectacular. I believe this solely is a collector’s tea, and it’s price does not reflect the experience. I would not spend this much on this tea again. The tea is a very solid and reliable session, but it isn’t something memorable. I would only show this off because of its brand, year, and authenticity; not for the actual taste or qi. I liked this, and I’m glad I was able to try. This isn’t something I will seek out again.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BANtKpizGfv/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

I must confess to using very good tea as a respite during the hectic holiday family-time – sneak away and enjoy several quiet minutes with my tea. One of my favorites during this time was a generous sample of the 1996 CNNP Green in Orange from White2Tea. What a nice example of aged tea!! The color of the liquor is deep orange-red and the sip is smooth with a nice aged taste. Definite sense of a woody sweetness with every sip and an interesting tang of minerals or spice (I could not decide which). Vibrant texture in the mouth and throat. A very pleasant sweet aftertaste lingers nicely in the mouth and throat. The qi builds throughout the session (relaxing and warming). Overall, a delicious tea which I found quite comforting.

Gave it a couple of good rinses and let it rest while I made breakfast and cleaned the messy tea table.

The liquor is nice, dark brown/amber and clear. It’s a smooth tea, no doubt, slight citrusy bitterness hits the tip of the tongue, some lingering bitterness in front and sweet in the back. Woody with some spice, huigan is evident. Leaves a “rough” feeling in the throat which I’m not too fond of, it may be due to lack of airing out, or parameters, storage, just the tea, too few rinses, the fact that it’s early on a Saturday or something else..

Very pleasant overall though, and I will be beating it to death with many more steeps, wouldn’t mind a cake.. but for $400, I will definitely pass (that’s 2x w2t 90s HK style and $100 to spare)..

It’s not easy to find a 20 year old tea that I love and feel is worth the money.