Drank an 08 Maocha from Liquid Proust’s box of sheng samples. This one was hard for me to drink/define. The 2010 was mostly sweet leather flavors, but this one had an aroma/flavor I haven’t yet encountered in tea. It was difficult to describe – reminded me of roasting vegetables at first, then I realized it was more just the spices/herbs involved. I picked up rosemary and peppercorn (not just black peppercorn but like the multi-colored ones). Taste was slightly bitter with peppercorn spice, though that eventually faded into a bit more of a sweet leather flavor. In the later steeps, the wet leaves smelled of seaweed, and I got some interesting “round” fruit notes. This tea was pretty good, but I enjoyed the 2010 maocha much more.
Flavors: Bitter, Fruity, Leather, Peppercorn, Seaweed, Spices, Spicy, Sweet
