1960s Oolong

This one starts with a delicate and mild aroma of sweet tobacco and dank moss. There is an immediately elegant sweetness to the over all light flavor to the liquor but with added notes of cedar and the incense of floral resins. The age does provide an element of austerity to the cup which, for me, really brings the flavors home. Brewing with hotter water brings out a typical aged “tang” and highlights the cedar and heavier wood notes.

The finish is slightly dry on the tongue and carries a cooling mouthfeel with a particularly interesting hui gan of eucalyptus and lavender.

Later infusions develop into more subtle interplays of lavender and sweet, mild incense. This one stays pleasantly heavy on the tongue yet light on the palate.

I drank this tea this morning. Sublime. When I lifted the smelling cup to my nose I held it there for nearly a minute as the aromas transitioned from honey to apricot to plum to a distant wildflower field. Flavour also left a maltiness in my mouth and a lasting hui gan (returning sweetness on the tongue). Energy: potent. Very potent. This morning it was tough to go to work. I’ve had this tea before after first drinking a pu erh and the energy is overpowering, and when following a good pu erh like Bliss or Rainbow, I was left in a deep meditation for a couple of hours.