Planet Jingmai Ancient Tree Sheng

OMGsrsly was generous enough to send me one of these orbs. Thank you so much.

I’ve been finding that I like sheng better with less leaf than is normally recommended. So yes, I broke this in half.
About a week ago I used one half and did a gongfu session with it. It was nice and light. I didn’t take detailed notes – but it was good. Maybe just a hint bitter with a little grassy – but not excessive.

Today I’ve taken the other half and dumped it into a steeping basket and a Davids perfect mug. I know, I know – but western steep works for me sometimes. This is one of those time. This is really good with short – 15/20 sec. A little creamy, really smooth, just a hint of the sheng mustiness. With this preparation, this is right up there with my favorite shengs.

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I am back from vacation!
This is my second attempt at brewing this, for the first time wasn’t all that great.

This session was much better. I got a new teapot as a gift while on vacation, and it seasoned very nicely. I dedicated the yixing to large leaf fresh spring sheng. I opened up the wrapper and reveled a very tightly wound little orb. The planet has a slight spiced green scent. I warmed up the yixing and popped this orb inside. i let it sit in the pot for some time to soak up the steam. I opened the lid and took in a wonderful fresh sweet scent. I washed the orb three times to allow the leaves to begin opening up. The taste began light and sweet, with a nice golden color. The brew progressively grew darker and yielded some more deeper flavors. The beginning of these tastes were intensely fresh; this orb is pure spring. I tasted some strong grassy notes with a wonderful sweetness. The brew has a brief peppery kuwei and a nice huigan that follows the drinker. The brew grew into some light roasted tones with a warm slight nuttiness in the aftertaste. The grassy tones kept consistently strong throughout the entire session; however, I also noted some woodiness in a later steeping. The drink has a beginning bite and then soothes with a sugarcane sweetness. The final steeping had a dry grass tone covered with a wet wood and warm sweetness. The qi is nice and warming with an alert effect. The sensation begins behind the eyelids and flows throughout the body. This warming feeling cools down to a percolating stimulate and gives the drinker a nice buzz. I liked this little orb. I would categorize this as a nice treat for traveling, but it isn’t something I’d keep for a staple. The price point is a little high for this tea. I enjoyed my session, and I’m happy that I gave this another chance.

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Last 2 days i spent on Planet Jingmai by Crimson Lotus Tea. I think its my 3rd orb since i got it last April. its developing nicely. its thicker,leaves are getting darker. so sweet,almost no astringency, just barely. i used off boil water, that what i do for any sheng, young or middle aged. It was opening slowly and i was patient. ive had some other teas in between. it made me very mellow and relaxed.
i started in 90ml shiboridashi and ended up in 150ml yixing pot. i had to give a room for the leaves explosion!

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Starting the morning off with this baby, though to be honest, i should have just stayed up all night. I’ve mentioned it before, shengs are not always my favourite. Give me a fabulous shou most days. I followed the instructions for loosening up this beautiful ball of tea. Thankfully, i read a few notes before to figure out how to manage this one.

Initially this is vegetal with a little bitterness at the end of the sip – i get a sense of sweetness but it disappears. In some sips it’s almost like the memory of smoke, without being smokey. It’ll be interesting to keep on with this one for the next little while, as i test and see where it takes me. more to come, and thanks omgsrsly for sending this one along!

I received one of these as a gift from CLT (they are quite generous)

Brewed it up today after some 90’s HK from W2T. What a perfect transition that way. A dark soupy sheng for the morning to wonderfully light sheng that opens up as the session continues.
My experience with smaller compressed raw material is that they are always strong when opened up. Thankfully, this one kept it’s calm/light taste throughout the session. Though it was a bit stronger during the ending steeps, this continued to stay pure and to my liking. This makes me curious of the material prior to pressing. I’ve yet to have a non bitter maocha. Now that I’ve drank it, I feel a little upset because I don’t have another. Most of my sheng is wild or darker. The only two raw from CLT I’ve had were light and reminded me of the pureness that a Japanee tea gives off. Looking forward to the two Bai Ying cakes… they looked so beautiful before I broke them up.

MMMM giant sheng ball! I got 17 infusions out of this beast, though the first couple were too weak to drink. I failed at following instructions on loosening the ball with long rinses.

The flavor is citrus, linen, cream, woodsy cedar, sap and artichokes. A very fun sheng to steep due to the shape!

I drank this together with CTL’s 2015 Midas Touch Jingmai Sheng

Full review on Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/crimson-lotus-tea-20142015-jingmai-sheng-comparison-tea-review/

I am FINALLY getting a chance to make this well reviewed tea! I have been meaning to try it but have not had the time to sit down and properly brew it, but today is the day! Thank you so much Crimson Lotus Tea for this sample that came with my teapot!

The appearance is so cute. I love that it’s a planet! A nice little sphere :) the dry smell is very faint as it is so well compacted but there is a touch of hay and honey. I am going to brew as per CLT’s gaiwan instructions on their website.

For rinses, I did the first rinse as a 30s steep and then let it rest for a few minutes, same thing for the second rinse. The rinses smell nice and light.

As for the first actual steep I am drinking (a 30s steep btw), this tea is, simply put, awesome!!! It’s smooth, definite honey flavor, a light vegetal body, and a hint of bitterness at the end. The honey flavor intensifies after the sip, lingering and making me want more.

I will continue to steep this all afternoon, in between errands and what not. Delicious start to the day!! Thank you so much Crimson Lotus Tea for the free sample!! I may have to place an order in the near future for a few teas, I have one more sample to try then I will see! :)

ETA – here is a link to my IG photo of this tea today :)

https://instagram.com/p/5SZl8eusGo/

I need to start writing tasting notes in the style of eBay feedback:
A+++++++++++ five stars, would buy again.

Seriously, this is amazing.

I was SO happy to finally get to try this tea yesterday! I was shocked at how tightly packed and dense this little planet is.

I took many photos on Instagram https://instagram.com/p/3TyUHvRh1S/

This is what it looked like after the first rinse https://instagram.com/p/3TzRuZRh3r/

This was the first steep I actually drank https://instagram.com/p/3T2Lj3Rh-I/ And it was so delicious! Soup was very thick. Pleasantly bitter in early steeps but never astringent. Super creamy. The honey scent and flavor built with each steep…glorious stuff!

https://instagram.com/p/3T-S—xh_5/ This tea gave me such a great sheng buzz all afternoon yesterday. Really good sheng puts me in a GREAT mood! These planets might seem pricey but they are definitely worth it as a special treat. I’m putting more in my shopping cart for sure! Thanks again Glen and Lamu :)