1041 Tasting Notes
This is a very well balanced tea, quite similar to the 2024 version.
It is very soft with a medium-full body and mild-medium astringency. Its aroma reminds me of apple pie, caramel, vanilla, and flowers. The taste is sweet, mineral and a bit bitter. There are notes of apples, root vegetables, bread, and burnt food. The strong and protracted aftertaste brings a cooling sensation and notes of herbs and vegetables.
This is a pungent and flavourful green tea. It smells vegetal with notes of peas, rainforest, orchid, dragon fruit, and freshly cut grass. The mouthfeel is very smooth and the taste is sweet, bitter, floral, mineral and refreshing. There is a strong perfumy, cooling and a bit drying sensation after drinking. All in all, I enjoy it a lot.
It is not a bad tea, but it also did not win me over. It has a light to medium body and aromas of bubblegum, sunflowers, and cut grass.
The first infusion is floral and bitter with a bit of sweetness and overall reminds me of Yunnan green teas. Later ones are warmer and more grainy, savoury. There are flavours of gin, barley, and vegetable broth, among others.
[Summer 2024 harvest]
Very nice black tea with aromas of black currants, wood, and molasses. Its texture is pretty smooth and only a bit astringent. The taste reminds me of blackberry, licorice, malt, eucalyptus, and cinnamon.
Preparation
This is a superb shou. While not extremely complex or aromatic, it is very tasty and has a remarkably thick, bubbly and buttery texture.
The taste is bitter, woody and earthy with notes of coffee, cocoa beans, nuts, rice, and a hint of mint.
Preparation
This tea has very little of that minty character compared to other teas from this cultivar. It is also very lightly oxidized. I generally like it a lot and it reminds me of a young sheng in taste, mouthfeel, and cha qi.
Dry leaf aroma reminds me of cookies, burdock, parsnip, gingerbread, Brussel sprouts, and fresh bread. Wet leaves, on the other hand, smell like stone fruits and wood.
The taste is refreshing, savoury, vegetal, and mineral with a grapefruit bitterness, but also floral and spicy qualities. Some of the flavours are like gai lan or citrus zest. The aftertaste is cooling and protracted with hints of mint and quinine. I also like the thick and creamy mouthfeel.
This tea now has more of the standard aged white tea character and as a result may be a bit less distinctive. Nevertheless, it is still very aromatic and sweet. It reminds me of mince pie, autumn leaf pile, wood, citrus fruits and dried fruits.
[Spring 2023 harvest]
I really like the complex aromatics of this tea as well as its bubbly mouthfeel. The cha qi is awakening as it brings a quality of presence.
Dry leaves smell perfumy with notes of spices, brownies, butter, bread crust, cherry, and flowers. After the rinse, I get hints of raspberry, wood, and petrichor, but it’s very flowery overall.
The tea is thick, warming, and mineral. Its taste is sweet, woody, and herbaceous with a peach flavour at times. There is a pungent sweet aftertaste that also bring a nectar-like flavour.
