338 Tasting Notes
Lost my notes again. Tea drunk.
it started bitter, then went into a sweeter taste, some stonefruit & menthol (camphor?) classic shengy taste, and then seemed to somehow get more viscous as the steeps went on. Or the taste left a bit so I felt the viscosity. Idk.
Now im well past steep 10 and ive lost the count. Its still got a young leaf taste but also sweet and pleasant. Its nice.
I defo preferred the others out of the YS selection, my fave being the 2015.
its nice though, been enjoying it all day.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Camphor, Menthol, Pleasantly Sour, Stonefruits, Sweet
I had a very similar experience to everyone here:
Vegetal, wet hay aroma, with a slightly sour flavour turning to sweet throughout the steeps. I listened to others and never oversteeped so didnt get too much bitterness.
Slightly drying aftertaste. Thick liquor.
I am having difficulty choosing the right words for the flavours I am experiencing. But I have been enjoying the session with this one quite a lot, it didnt reveal anything I didnt like, but maybe that was due to me being aware to avoid that with method? I’m not sure how that reflects on the actual tea, this being my first sheng olympics an’ all.
I think I enjoyed this one more than others. I thought it was quite nicely balanced, the sour vs the thickness seemed to work for me, and the sweet vs vegetal – I got apples at some point, which was a very nice taste. Also made me think of pears. something in the huigan.
To be noted I dont hit sheng with as much temperature as some of you, this will affect the flavour for sure, but it was still thick and tasty. later on I started getting a pretty dry mouth and a warm floaty head.
The huigan is great – long lasting, aroma was still appearing a long time after finishing each cup. The Qi I enjoyed, but it did affect me in a standard caffeine sense as well. Sometimes I really wish the stimulating effect of tea wasnt so present.
This is one I would definitely consider buying and storing but for some reason I thought this was a cheaper tea – unsure as to storing knowledge that would make it a hard decision – I want to buy at least one from the olympics even if I dont have much money at the moment. And this one is currently doing quite well on my leaderboard :)
Flavors: Apple, Pear, Pleasantly Sour, Sweet, Thick, Vegetal
Smooth and thick, with a fruity note on the tip of my tongue I cant place. I can see where some people are getting vegetal from as well.
Its easy drinking, even more so than I imagined. I pushed it and it was still nice and didnt go bitter. I also got the resemblance to fresh green tea, it really does taste like it, snappy peas and beans, with sweetness and slight sour you get with some green tea that hangs around the sides and tip of your tongue.
Flavors: Creamy, Green, Peas, Pleasantly Sour, Sweet
2016 sheng olympics! I really like this tea as well. Nice and sweet, yummy apricot taste and a really easily drinkable vibe. It is slightly mellow – i.e. not strong bitterness or sour leaf flavour, which I love. A slight astringency (edit* probably drying is better word) but not such a long lasting aftertaste. ive been flash steeping it and its keeping a nice flavour. I like the body of the liquor, while not thick, there is some there.
Such a shame there was so much drama – its the sort of tea that I would buy more of, there wasnt any off tastes, apart from the one surrounding the validity of this tea, which is a unfortunate.
I wonder if this tea will come on the market again next season, and what its name will be?
Flavors: Apricot, Stonefruits, Sweet
2016 Sheng Olympics
This one was a bit different. It has a slightly different flavour, like all the purple varietals I have tried before – this has a similar pleasantly sour flavour, and is quite lively in the feeling it gives you. I had to stop every once in a while because caffeine started kicking in.
Its an interesting flavour, not something I am really used to, having only tried a few different processing types of purple tea.
Throughout the session the sourness got sweeter. I am on the second day drinking it and it is stonefruit flavour and aroma. With also something softer, but I am having trouble picking out the correct term for it. I am preferring today, I think mainly because this is still a flavour I am trying to wrap my head around. I dont know if its for everyone – but you could say that for a lot of sheng, right?
I would love to see what this tea tastes like aged. Maybe I should start buying some?
Flavors: Pleasantly Sour, Stonefruits
You should try the “Ying Shan Hong.” I made 8 24 ounce pots of it yesterday, and had it throughout the day. However, I was unable to fall asleep when needed. It’s very sweet and has a great mouth-feel at the back of the throat. It was almost “refreshing” as well as rejuvenating to the body! It was the “I feel awake, but not shaky” kind of feeling. Or, what I’ve been told in the past, “positively tea drunk.”
PS. I’ve been struggling with “naming that flavor” in the “Ying Shan Hong,” too. I want to say “sweet river water” or some kind of unnamed fruit(?). Ha. Ha.
I get slight kinesthesia/mental images from tea, sometimes its things like ‘tastes like a ship in a storm’ and thats the image it gives me haha. sweet river water I can actually understand :)
I’ll try that one. it wasnt in the sheng olympics was it.? I’m on tea buying hiatus until I have more cash. Theres a few cakes from YS I know I want but also waiting until after ive drank all these to have a bit more knowledge on what I like.
Rasseru- it wasn’t. I just buy teas at random, and hope for the best! Ha. Ha. I’d buy more tea, but I’m on a tea hiatus merely for the fact that I’ve spent too much in January on tea, and increased my tea cabinet by 15 tea cakes/bricks! Which, is quite a lot. Ha. Ha.
I am really enjoying this one! Notes of coffee, chocolate, sweetness, some fruit maybe. I like this one because it has a thick dry edge to the taste reminiscent of coffee. Not bitter in any way, but it reminds me in a nice way of something I miss. This is a good potential coffee substitute.
Quite a nice dark thick liquor, and while it to me, seems quite similar to other shou Ive been recently trying, this one does things in a nice way, if im wanting a coffee-like drink.
I’d be interested to know others thoughts on this one, I think its quite good.
Flavors: Chocolate, Coffee, Sweet
I’m not a big fan of shou but this sounds pretty good.
Yeah, something about this one is just nice.
Its quite strong. I can feel the caffeine
I’m saving this one on my “to get next” list. I’m currently working on the Feng Quin Dian Hong from Yunnan Sourcing, and it’s brilliant.
yeah ive got some of that. its lovely, isnt it :)
Yes. I’m trying to break away from sweets, and that tea is pretty great to do that with!
Now I just need this tea to break away from coffee, too! Ha. Ha.
haha, I dont know if it will do that. I’m also a bit of a puerh noob, so my recommendations arent that of people with more experience. Its one of the nicest ripes ive had though for this kind of flavour.
I had to give up coffee over ten years ago now – thats what sparked off my drinking of different teas. I was happily surprised with the flavour of this one. That might mean there are some out there with much more of a coffee flavour! that would be amazing
This one is on my list.
I’d be interested to know what you think of it. Something about the balance of the flavours just seems really nice, like someone has done a good job on the processing & storage.
or it was a leaf I would like in the first place
I don’t like coffee flavored teas, but the teas that are bold like coffee, I suppose. I usually drink tea (98% of the time); however, I have “coffee-only” friends. Perhaps this would be a tea to introduce to them!
it definitely tastes like shu puerh, no question. But there is something about it, maybe the way the body is, which reminded me of black coffee.
Mmmmm. I’ll have to give it a go :)
I find dark roasted flavors such as coffee, dark chocolate, and stout beer in Keemun teas, and I really like those teas. I’ll also have to add this to my want list.
try the sample first, I dont want people rushing out to buy it – im a bit of a puerh noob tbh, and it might not be the best substitute, its just something I noticed :)
I’m not too experienced with puerh either, but I’ve like all of the Shu that I’ve had so far, so it wouldn’t be much of a risk either way. I’m just beginning to figure out how to brew the Shengs, that truly is an art…
yes it is, i flash steep mine a lot and dont use boiling
drinking it again today, i immediately thought of coffee again smelling the liquor. And it wakes you up first cup the same way
Nice sized leaf, really green and when steeped give off a lovely aroma thats like Ya Shi but more nutty, like cashews or something. Very lightly oxidised.
Same with the liquor, its lovely and nutty with the whatever-it-is Ya Shi flavour and smell. Its quite green in taste, as well. The description says fruity, I’m getting nut paste like you would to go in a korma, alongside some floral . I guess there is some fruit in there but it isnt sweet. Nice medium supple thickness, goes down really easy.
Im drinking as Im writing, just been flash steeping it, I think im on steep five or six and its still going strong.
Good stuff. And why isnt cashew listed as flavours? That and dusty old sofa need to be there asap
Flavors: Floral, Fruity, Nutty
I wondered about that.
Have you tried the 2015 Spring version? It’s quite floral with more of a roasted grain flavor than nut. There’s also a strong tingling/numbing sensation, similar to what I get from sheng pu’er.
I dont think I have. I love that tingling/numbing sensation, it lights up my tongue like sweetness would. In fact its one of the things I look for in a tea thats to my taste
