285 Tasting Notes
This is an excellent tea, organic or not. It is really mellow and strong, somewhat sweet, and very tasty. I love that it is certified organic, which I believe is not hype given that I trust the vendor. This is my favorite of the second bunch of 2018 ripes released from Yunnan Sourcing in recent months, and much better than the other organic ripes I’ve tried from YS. I like to support organic efforts in China, so I’m going to buy a lot of cakes.
Trying this again for the first time in a few years. It has lost most of the chocolate notes and the bitter is upfront. Most fermentation flavor is gone, but of course that includes the chocolate as in my experience that is a fermentation flavor. This has aged fine, but I don’t find it all that great. The Year of the Goat ripe from YS has aged much better.
Scott’s description of this is pretty spot on. It is fermented on the lighter side, and it shows. There is a tart bitterness I associate with sheng, very tasty. The tea still brews up pretty dark. It is quite smooth, viscous, and very durable. Not terribly complex, but it is yummy. Good stuff.
I’ve had this tea a few times now and it tasted very different than my first session. Now I’m finding no chocolate notes. Just really smooth and clean, sweet and nutty. Like me. Still a great tea. Where’d the chocolate go? I wonder if chocolate is a form of fermentation flavor. I’ve noticed it dissipating in other shus as well.
