The one! I found MY Puerh. This tea fooled me when I first opened the bag ‘Ooops I opened my silver needle white tea bag!’ then I smelled something different.. ‘Is this the silver needle puerh?… IT IS!’ It looks like a silver needle white tea with a slightly bitter-sweet fruity scent coming from the dry buds.
This one is my favorite because to me it captures bits of my favorite traits in different teas. Subtle in all aspects and yet complicated to the palate. I holds rock sugar sweetness that opens into a more fruity melon like sweetness, floral but never overwhelming in scent or taste, it has some of the bitterness you would expect from a good Sheng but it’s an undertone to its sweetness.
It becomes floral and has a good lasting aftertaste that is sweet, fruity and floral with a eucalyptus freshness in the back of the throat. The wet buds smell sweet and bitter with hints of citrus fruit peel. This tea doesn’t change much over course of the multiple steeps it can take but rather seems to offer a limitless supply of steeps, keeping the subtlety in its notes.
This is the kind of tea that has me smelling my cup after every steep. I’d recommend it to both Sheng lovers and newcomers alike. If you prefer ‘rougher’ notes then this might not be the one for you, but if you appreciate balanced and aged, this is your Sheng.
