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The leaves are dark brown/red with a few golden tips present. Also the leaves look small yet mostly full or at least half the leaf intact. It has a damp, earth scent with notes of wood, must and soil.

First Steep – 30 seconds

Colour is dark red with a musty and damp wood scent. Flavour is gentle with soft wood, smoke and damp earth notes. No astringency to speak of.

Second Steep – 40 seconds

The colours is now dark, similar to soy sauce. Flavour is smooth with a musty soil after taste that is gentle. A little damp tasting too.

Third Steep – 45 seconds

Flavour is still soft with damp soil, smoke, wood, musk and brown sugar notes. As it lightens towards the after taste it sweetens.

Fourth Steep – 55 seconds

Down to burnt orange in colour. This steep is more wooden and damp than musty, though the soft sweetness persists.

Fifth Steep – 1 minute

More soil in this steep though still soft and with no bitterness. Very clean and natural tasting. Slight dryness in the after taste.

Sixth Steep – 1 minute 20 seconds

Very light, all I can really taste is damp soil with a soft, sweet finish.

Seventh Steep – 2 minutes

Still consistent damp soil though no longer sweet.

Eighth Steep – 3 minutes

Softer than ever though still a faint soil flavour.

The thing that strikes me the most about this Shou is how subtle it is in flavour. The ageing has smoothed it to a nice place but personally for me this is too subtle. It has some characteristics that while still pleasant is nothing above basic.

For pics and more information on all of this months Yunnan Sourcing Premium Plan Club teas please view my blog.
http://www.kittylovestea.co.uk/2015/02/26/yunnan-sourcing-premium-plan-club-february-2015/

Flavors: Brown Sugar, Mud, Musty, Wet Earth, Wet Wood

DeliriumsFrogs

I love your blog! Thanks for the link. :)

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Comments

DeliriumsFrogs

I love your blog! Thanks for the link. :)

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Profile

Bio

I’m 34 years old from Leicester, England named Kayleigh.

I started off many years ago drinking herbal and fruit teas which over time peaked my interest in trying new types. Eventually I began to import and sample many different teas and cultures which I still do today. My life goal is to try as many teas and ways of having tea as possible.

Tea wise my cravings change constantly from pu erh one month to jasmine green to the next and so on.

I also enjoy watching Japanese Anime and horror films.

I am always up for tea swaps so if you see anything in my virtual cupboard then please contact me.

A short list to help swapping with me easier though honestly I am not fussy and am willing to try anything. Plus the notes below are usually, sometimes I love a tea that has an ingredient I tend to dislike and other times I hate a tea that I thought I would love.

Likes: Any fruit but especially melon and orange, vanilla, all tea types (black, green, white etc), nuts (any), flowers, ginger, chai.

Dislikes: Licorice, aniseed, clove, eucalyptus, lavender.

My rating system
I have my own way of rating teas that makes each one personal. I have different categories, I rate each tea depending on what it is made of. For example: I rate green teas in a different way to black teas or herbal teas. So black, white, green, Pu Erh, Rooibos, Oolong, blends and tisanes all have their own rating system. That way I can compare them with other teas of the same or similar type before for an adequate rating. And when I do give top marks which is very rare I am actually saying that I would love to drink that tea all day, every day if possible. It’s a tea that I would never turn down or not be in the mood for. So while I agree that no tea is 100% perfect (as nothing is) I am saying that it’s as close as it comes to it. After all, in my book the perfect teas (or close to perfect anyway) are ones that I could drink all the time. That is why you will find a high quality black or Oolong will not have as high a score as a cheap flavoured blend, they are simply not being compared in the same category.

Location

Leicester, England, United Kingdom

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