When the leaves are placed in a warmed gaiwan, we are greeted with the sweet scent of sugar and toast, reminding us of slightly of walking into a pastery shop.There is something slightly creamy about the aroma with a touch of cinnamon and the namesake gardenia flower fragrance hiding in the background.When infused with water, this buttered toast fragrance gives way to something much fruitier like a berry compote with vegetal edges.
The brew is surprisingly sweet on the tongue, causing us to salivate quickly while providing an oily full-mouth sensation that sticks around between infusions.The bright and clear flavors of this tea speak to the ideal spring picking season during which these leaves grew.Rare in recent years are the perfect combination of cool nights, bright sun, and occasional rain that creates such outstanding teas.
Around the third infusion, the deep minerality of this tea gives way to a bouquet of gardenias and other sweet floral notes most evinced by the aroma left behind in the empty cup. If left to cool slightly, this tea becomes incredibly oily, coating the tongue and the mouth quite nicely. The cool brewed leaves also begin to exude a perfume-like fragrance of sugar and flowers.
Deeply roasted Northern Fujian yancha character, but otherwise a bit flat. Low astringency, with caramelized brown sugar and just a whisper of woody cinnamon beneath the roast. Fine as an everyday Rou Gui, though the roast carries most of the experience.
Floral, green, balanced, it does have that butter type note, decently sweet. It brews many multiple times. Overall, its a very decent Ya Shi Xiang at a good value.
This cute little square brewed up surprisingly well in a mug. Sometimes I find Yunnan whites to be temperamental to brew, but this one was a smooth sipper right off the bat and lasted quite long.
