This is a nice puerh with a fair amount of bitterness in the early infusions. I also noticed a sour note for the first couple of steeps. This could be because this teat was dry stored in New York for a few months before I decided to try it. After a few steeps a sweet note emerged in this tea. Pretty much the standard notes for young sheng, apricots and stonefruits I would say. Overall this is pretty good tea. It has an aftertaste that lasts a while. It is very pleasant in later steeps. As far as qi goes I didn’t feel any from this tea but I rarely feel qi from any tea so it does not surprise me that it is sadly missing. Maybe I’ll feel it as I finish my last cup who knows.
I steeped this tea twelve times in a 150ml gaiwan with 8.1g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 min. It had not weakened much in the twelfth steep, it would have gone a few more steeps but I had reached my caffeine limit for today.
Flavors: Apricot, Bitter, Stonefruit, Sweet
Cha qi for you is a bit like caffeine in coffee for me—no noticeable affects. I found the 2015 version to have a good amount of qi—enough to get me tipsy by the 4th infusion. It’s interesting how much it’s evolved since last year.