This tea was made by a young producer within the core-production area's lesser known Danggkeng Village. It is a custom-made product intended to suit the tastes of Northern Fujian tea drinkers who grew up on Yancha. Having been roasted, this Zhangping Shuixian does not have the same refreshingly green and crisp body that would normally be expected with this tea. However, it is also not remotely as roasty-toasty as most Shuixian from Wuyishan. It is its own thing, creamy and nutty while still retaining some of that aromatic florality that Zhangping Shuixian is intended to deliver.
Locals in Zhangping would enjoy one 8 gram pillow of this tea gongfu style in a smaller 120ml gaiwan, while people in Northeastern China may prefer to enjoy this tea as a slower one-shot infusion in a much larger 300-600ml tea pot. You can enjoy it either way.
Being an aroma-forward tea, we recommend you try it gongfu style at least once. Be sure to smell the packing papers, the lid, and the water itself for the fullest experience.
2010 Yao Aroma and 2013 Purple both have the classic aged Liu Bao profile - very good. The 2019 Yao has an amazing barbequed note that made it my favourite.
The dancong box was absolutely incredible. I love dancong oolongs anyway, but these gave me a new appreciation for them! Especially the yashixiang motherbush!!
