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This is Winter 2017 harvest. The dry leaf has a sweet, pungent, and intoxicating aroma of flowers. In the preheated gaiwan a sort of fruity, buttery aroma joins the flowers. The taste is much like the aroma: very floral, fruity, citrusy (like lemon meringue pie or lemon cookies). Thick, buttery, and lubricating mouthfeel with a long lasting aftertaste (of lemon pie). This tea was amazing, probably the best oolong I’ve ever had, but I feel like just knowing how expensive it was made me keep thinking: “I paid for the name of the mountain, not the tea”. Which is probably true, but I’m happy to be able to experience such a rare gem in the world of high mountain tea.

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Early steeps have a strong citrus flavor with slight floral notes and after taste, while in later steeps the citrus flavor starts to dissipate and the floral notes become much more pronounced. A very good, interesting oolong.

This tea is so floral that I can’t believe there isn’t Jasmine flowers mixed in with it. Sweet, thick, malty, and floral – the perfect tea to start Spring with.

While I don’t get much “honey” flavor from it, it’s definitely thick and sweet like a honey nectar – mixed in with strong mineral overtones along with some hay and brown sugar notes thrown in. The after taste lasts forever, and I couldn’t put my finger on what it reminded me of, but then it just hit me… it reminds me of the sweet tobacco I used to chew in highschool. I’ve had this tea for a few months, and I revisit it every few weeks – it seems to get better and better every time I do.

I can’t help but to think that this is what a flower dipped in honey would taste like. I don’t know why, but that’s what I think every time I take a sip. Thick, creamy, floral, slightly vegetal, and super honeyed nectar; like the folks over at Crimson Lotus robbed a honeybee hive that was hording tea leaves. It’s extremely sweet, but with the perfect amount of astringency to make it so I don’t feel like I’m drinking from a hummingbird feeder. I think I’m in love with Jingmai… and puerh.

Spring 2017 harvest. I really love the look and colors of these leaves. It has a nice spiced herb aroma that permeates from the leaves, and a – what I’ve come to understand, but unable to put it into words, other than to say – classic Taiwanese tea character. It took awhile to get the parameters right, but once I did, I had a great experience: raw, pollen heavy, honey; sweet, with a thick mouthfeel; slightly floral at the base with notes of fruit.