This shou is quite delicate and unusual, but I am not totally sure where I stand with respect to it.
The aroma is sweet, thick and red wine like. As the tea cools down, more floral and herbal tones emerge. It has a slight medicinal quality almost like an aged sheng.
Taste is very light and nuanced with a good balanced profile. There are notes of butter, autumn leaf pile, roasted grains and coffee. In late steeps I also get a papaya like sweetness. Overall, the end of the session is a bit too sweet for my liking. The aftertaste is spicy and expansive with a light tannic quality and porter ale note. Later on it gets quite milky too. As for the mouthfeel, the tea is delicate there too. The body light to medium and the texture is watery and smooth. As the liquor cools down, it gets a bit thicker and creamier.
One thing I didn’t quite expect is the fact that this tea doesn’t resteep very well. I can’t seem to get much more than 100ml per gram out of it. I would like to have a cake to see how this kind of light fermented shou with virtually no bitterness develops, but I don’t think I quite like it enough to get a cake.
Flavors: Alcohol, Autumn Leaf Pile, Black Pepper, Butter, Coffee, Floral, Herbs, Lemon, Medicinal, Milk, Red Wine, Roasted Barley, Spicy, Sweet, Tannic, Tropical
