Back at home, I spent the afternoon teaching & sipping multiple steeping of this Sheng.
I got this 1 oz sample right before this Pu’er sold out! I feel so lucky
I’m just getting started on Shengs, having finally sampled my first one (Tian Di Ren ’06 Bulang Mountain) last Friday, as part of the Tea of the Month Club offerings for October.
This will sound unsavory, but I’m finding Shengs to smell kind of like a well composted manure, but not in a bad way (only tea drinker would say crazy things like that). That’s not to say it smells like poop, so maybe it’s just a well-composted alfalfa type smell, now that I think about it, kind of fresh & musty smelling at the same time. The dry tea is in flat clumps, very compressed (like an old cow pie…sorry, I just had to say it! LOL).
I’m using my beloved Gaiwan, & the first steeping was light & very mildly salty. The wet leaf has taken on a charcoal smell. The 2nd steep is a beautiful honey color, with a boldness to it, a peppery bite, & a little bitterness. I may have over-steeped by a few seconds, in which case it’s not very forgiving!
With steep #3, I’m picking up a toasted almond flavor! The plantain is also still there.
- - All of the above, plus more charcoal, & some astringency
#5,6,& 7 combined – less bitter, a hint of apricot
$8, 9, & 10 The color & flavor are both still good! The toasted almond has been the predominant flavor throughout all steepings, and there is also an underlying smokey tobacco-like taste, & I added a drop or 2 of stevia to some cups, which really brought out the apricot essence. I can tell that I can get several more steepings out of this, but that’s all for today. Maybe I’ll toss the rest in a little water & cold brew overnight.
I only got an ounce of this. I wish I’d gotten enough to stick it in a closet somewhere & let it age awhile. I will put what I have left away for at least a little while, probably.
