2016 golden water turtle 水金龟

The tea soup is clear. Exactly the color I think of when I say amber. Perhaps a bit watery looking. The brewed aroma is not very strong. It’s almost neutral in it’s aroma. Subtle amount of minerality, but barely anything else.The initial mouthfeel is thick, and a bit dry. This quickly develops into a more smooth, thin feel. Though, it’s still dry. Towards the back of the mouth, I get an interesting pop-rock effect. The flavor is of a sweet minerality, with a pretty forward roast characteristic. Don’t let the tea cool down too much. It becomes a complete mineral bomb if you do. The finish is a strong, almost tongue bite of minerality. There is a also little chocolate bitterness in the finish. It’s a pleasant taste, if a bit one dimensional. I will say, the finish is really long lasting. A little bit more sweetness comes through after about a minute.

Big switch from about the sixth infusion on. I also changed the water source, which is probably the bigger factor. A lot more sweetness. The minerality is finally taking a back note. Now, it’s almost sugarcane(brown) like sweetness, with some light sided florality. The texture is also much less dry. It’s almost velvet like now; heavy like an embrace. The finish is quite a bit more complex now. You get layers of that sugarcane sweetness, with the a light florality, and strong (but mellow) undertones of minerality. Really, a big difference. The only thing that hasn’t really changed, is the aroma. In both the gaiwan, and the cup, it’s almost non existent.

Cha qi (tea energy) is very mellow. It’s a sort of radiating heat from the mid point of the sternum. I can feel the cha qi slowly enveloping me as I drink more. Moving up from the chest, and into the arms. Eventually, It sort of sits in my forehead. Which is common for me. A sort of pleasant heaviness.