I am relatively new to pu-erh to take this rating with a grain of salt. Per advice from other Steepster members, I used 175 degree water for this young sheng. I also didn’t follow normal pu-erh technique, but used 3 grams in 3 oz water.
(15 s, no rinse): Floral aroma. Taste is a mix of straw and flowers. Quite sweet. 2nd (30 s): Very rich flavor is straw, with hints of earth and flowers. Somewhat sweet. Lovely nose; powerful finish. 3rd (30 s): The aroma is now more fruity than floral. Also, more powerful. The taste is mostly straw but is becoming somewhat bitter at the finish. making the strong finish more of a negative than an asset. Good cha qi. 4th (45 s): nose is fruity AND floral. Taste and finish are weaker than before but still potent; also less cha qi. The tea has a lot of body, but not a whole lot of flavor. Long finish. 5th (60 s): Good mouth-feel and some cha qi, but the flavors aren’t terribly interesting any more.
Overall impression: This reminded me of certain green teas of a grassy/straw flavor, but much more powerful and complex. I much prefer this to those teas, which has already started me wondering how I will use up those green teas if I start buying young sheng.
A nice one to enjoy!