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Wow. What a revelation. Muscat complexity and depth like red wine. Steeped western while half asleep this morning; second steep didn’t slow down at all; wish I’d brought the leaves along to work for a third. Looking forward to bowling and sessioning this in a less-groggy state.

Coming back to add: 3rd steep about 24 hours later was cotton candy glorious.

I would have guessed this was younger! The flavors are quite complex, rocketing from truffled banana bread on the nose, to sweet green herbs in the mouth, to an aftertaste of pear candy on the swallow. Tasted like cooling, felt like heat. Apparently this is just a lighter ferment, but I still would have expected 20+ years to infuse some more funk and darkness. The complexity is there, though — a total surprise on my Liu Bao journey. Looking forward to revisiting.

This is the second time I’ve sessioned this tea — sending some off to a friend and wanted to touch base with it. I talked to PJ about old wood/resin/furniture notes, and this was his first recommendation. He described it as “wicker,” and I do concur with that assessment. It has a lighter, sweeter quality to it than the aged, heavy, lacquered temple wood/antique furniture I’m chasing, but it’s tasty nonetheless. It reminds me a bit of sweet tea, in the way the sugar tends to dominate and blanket over some of the more delicate nuances.

I am almost ashamed to admit it, but this reminds me of a hella cheap cake I threw into an Amazon cart when I needed to get over the minimum for next-day delivery a few months ago. It was super funky when it showed up, and I was mad at myself for doing that. I took a big chunk of it to work to air out and abuse — and I’ll be goddamned, that swill is better every time I drink it. It’s nigh on delightful right now.

I don’t know what the point is here. I probably wouldn’t repurchase James Brown at its price point, though it’s nice (like sugar and spice, da-na-na na-na na-na!). I probably would repurchase that stupid-cheap funkmaster wannabe, though.

A trade get… unsure what vendor this is from, though the heavy heavy storage note makes me think Yee On. I also don’t know the year of my sample.

This tea sat beside me for nearly an entire day — I set up my session and started a book on the enneagram types. I took (succumbed to) about eight naps… pouring a steep when I’d wake up, eventually finishing my book and gong fu session. I didn’t realize quite how exhausted I was.

I think I’m a 4w5.

I was prepared for incredible nuance and intrigue with a shu/sheng blend, but this long-ass session fell short (hurr hurr) for me. It presented as a light (reddish) shu with dank basement notes. No cooling camphor or particularly interesting age to find. I really didn’t pick up any sheng pop or influence to speak of; I do wonder if a younger purple mark might not be more up my alley. I guess I’d be risking some wet pile aroma, but perhaps the sheng wouldn’t be fully consumed yet, as it seems here? Maybe… if that’s how this cake even works, who knows.

An enjoyable sample, which I’ll reach for when I’m craving a lighter ferment/heavier storage shu.

Increased my ratio to 15:1 on this session, which is becoming my trend. There is so much happening in this tea. The boldest flavors are the gorgeous wintergreen/deep berries/tobacco of the tea, along with the alcohol/barrel notes imparted from the aging. But there are surprises to find — a flaky croissant on the lid, caramelized sugar at the bottom of the cup. Tannins and peeking wild florals keep the whole thing lively and without stodge. A meadow-plunked picnic in southern France.

I’m an outlier here, but I don’t think this is a very good tea. It reminds me a lot of Mandala’s milk oolong, which whipped me through the same excited-then-disappointed loop: both are quite vegetal, grassy, threatening astringency. The condensed milk and bakery notes are apparent on the nose, but the base doesn’t gather, doesn’t intensify, doesn’t help sustain those flavors through the sip. There’s no center.

I’ll take this to work. When all I can really manage to appreciate is the “oolong note” or “sheng note” of an otherwise meh tea, I do delight in those broad strokes.

This all said, this tea has made me feel VERY grateful that many of my first touches with “archetype teas” were from amazing vendors that really chose stand-out examples. How sad would it be to think I didn’t like milk oolong after a miss like this? Very! I’m specifically thinking of What-Cha’s milk oolong after this session… sofa king good. Aged oolong from Global Tea Hut is another that comes to mind.

Had the last of my ~5 months old sample this morning, and the bergamot was… missing. Hmm. It remained a solid and tasty black snail, but that glorious bouquet had up and spirited away.

It makes me a bit nervous about the four(!) ounces I just received. I had moved the earlier batch to a sealed glass container; I’ll leave this next one in its mylar, drink studiously, and hope for the best.

By best I mean gloriously nekkid barrel-aged angels bergamoting all over the place. Fingers crossed.