Wow. So, I decided to try this again today to review before I inevitably throw more of my money at CLT, and it is worlds different from the curdled lemon milk that I remember. I don’t know if I hadn’t rested my sample properly, used poor quality water, or was just plain bad at brewing a year back, but that is not how I would describe the tea today at all.
6.66-ish g to 100ml preheated ruyao gaiwan with 205F water. Starts off intensely bitter, but with interesting savory honey flavors behind the bitterness. Second steep sees the bitter dying down immediately, but maybe that’s just the tea energy socking you in the face so you don’t notice, my arms were feeling funny at this point. Recurring flavor profile becomes savory green bitter citrus fruit cooked over powdered nut charcoal with a strong lingering aftertaste that goes from refreshing green citrus to bitter to nut cigarettes to even sweet, milky candy with a thick mouth feel. Lots of transitions and flavor switches with this tea, the ride alone makes it worth sampling, in my opinion.
Overall, crazy cha qi, an impressive and intricate dance of flavors, textures, and aromas, but definitely bitter backbone to it all. I liked it a lot for its uniqueness and lack of astringency despite the heavy bitterness, but non/new pu drinkers almost certainly may not appreciate the bitter and its many more subtle qualities.
Flavors: Bitter, Citrus, Creamy, Green, Nuts, Pineapple, Pleasantly Sour, Sage
