Meh
I suppose this can be a polarizing tea, before looking it up I tried my sample to remove any biases price or otherwise related. I recognized xiang as smell didn’t make out the gu hua part until after. The smell was too muddled for me to get anyone thing out of it I would say complex but they all came at once and disappeared just as fast which made me think this was a blend. The sip was just as confusing I tasted a bunch of banna notes first it seemed like hekai sweetness then nanuo fruity/floral but ended with a sour strange taste that was off putting. Being puer I figured give it a chance maybe it will improve.
Long story short it didn’t as a tell tale sign (for me personally because I always feel wasteful and disrespectful to the producers if I don’t finish all the leaves have to give ) I dumped the session before hitting brew 6 or 7. Sure enough I looked it up it was a blend, also the name was in reference to osmanthus flower which I loathe anyhow so maybe I am not the best to judge this tea.
Not to be a snob but I am not partial to blends well to clarify leftover/scrapes blends which this maybe or maybe not be but the flavors/aroma were out of sync. instead of being layered. I do not underestimate the art or skill it takes to make a good puer blend, it’s far from your average english breakfast random hong cha tossed in willy nilly. Puer being so complex and multifaceted with endless variables. I mean no disrespect as I stated it must be near impossible to make a good blend for young sheng non-plantation tea.
Feels good to start running through my samples and find things I don’t like as my wallet is battered and it’s fresh tea season.
