Thanks for the very FRESH sample. 5-6 grams in a 150 mL glass gaiwan gives 2 teaspoons leftover for the recommended brewing which I’ll do later.
Spindly delicate medium-dark green leaves and buds are twisted to reveal the white downy undersides. The sample bag is lined with down.
Allergies have been a problem lately so I can’t pick out dry leaf scents easily but what I do get is soft and green and floral. There is some broken leaf (no dust) but perhaps that leads to the wonderful experience of this tea. The delicate brewed leaves turn a shade of yellow and some show spots of reddish oxidation. They smell floral like daffodil?, an unplaced green, sweet, creamy, a bit eggy with the lightest tinge of lemon.
The liquor has that floral, milky sweetness I find when biting into a raw ear of peak-season sweet corn but it’s also mineral, bright and clean at the same time. I’m reminded of creamed corn with a touch of spinach. Very smooth, slightly drying, the downy hairs ever-present. The sweetness and floral remain in the mouth a while after the sip. No extreme drop off in flavor as the steeps progress, moving into a bit more astringency but retaining the florals. Eighth steep gives way to a nice clean and light ending.
Caffeinated, calming, gentle on the belly.
I’m still kind of a tea noob but I want to say it’s like a less aggressive Taiwanese baozhong. Quite different than the current Anhui Huoshan Huang Ya offering.
