by Puerlife » May 4th, '14, 09:29
A Tale of Two Sessions: Just three days apart. When I did the first session I think I was coming down with a cold thanks to my bedroom air conditioner but didn't realize it yet.
5/1/14 Nahan 2013 Spring 7 grams 100 ml 1) Autumnal? Slight astringency. 2) 15s 100c Autumnal vanilla-like aftertaste but other than than a gentle yuck. 3) 15s astringent, bad taste 4) 10s 95c Hm, much better! 5) 6s 98c Mellow at first but last cup is nasty 6) 6s 98c Astringency, OK taste, a few minutes later actually a little huigan 7) 6s 98c OK 8 ) 10s 98 pleasant astringency, not much flavor but not nasty
5/4/14 Nahan 2013 Spring 9 grams no rinse 1) 1s 98c very thick, not bitter, easy to drink 2) 4s 98c Still no bitterness, I’ve become aware of my throat in a good way. Can’t place the taste. Through the great creaminess is a subtle flavor. Now the tongue feels coated with cream. The tongue feels smooth. After a few minutes the qi rises. Sedated but alert, very nice. 3) 6s 98c Now there’s a bit of kuwei and a sparkling coolness on the tongue. Mm, the tongue is not numb, more like a pleasant aliveness. Ooh, more qi now. Huigan! This is good. Tongue was wet but I’m feeling astringency now a couple minutes later. A few more minutes later and it’s suddenly very interesting being in this body, the sensations and conceptions of what’s going on inside. 4) 8s 98s So smooth. Pretty much no taste on the tongue but immediately after, the sensation on the tongue and in the prefrontal lobe occur almost simultaneously. 5) 10s 100c I’ve upped the temp to boiling (whatever temp that is at 1,000m elevation) OK, there’s flavor now in the form of kuwei. Not overpowering, very nice, but warning me not to overdo it. And then the sweetness, and then more body and mind sensation. Big smile on my face now. 6) 12s 100c Initially sweet and delicious, aftertaste of metal. Second cup is just a bad bitter. Is this the end? 7) 10s 98c Tasty again, more qi. The deep pockets in my gums are throbbing, but not painfully. Something in the tea is working on them. Since I started drinking young sheng almost daily a month or two ago, my gums have been in much much better shape than before. I can now eat tough meat without being in pain for two days. 8 ) 12s 98c Still good but with a bit of a rough edge. Qi still wonderful. 9) 14s 98c Slightly metallic, some bitterness but still good to drink. 10) 20s 98c Fading gracefully, leaving remarkable cooling sensation around throat entrance for the first time, cooling my outbreath as it goes into my mouth. The second cup has a subtle, then stronger nice kuwei. We’re not done yet! A few minutes later a sudden and remarkable cooling sensation delights the throat and palate. A little later, my tongue and palate feel like I’ve just had some mint. 11) 25s 98c Mm, some nice astringency, good flavor and the very nice conscious body and head feel continue. 12) 30s 98c Metallic More headrushes, my lower sinuses are purring. 13) 35s 98c The taste is mildly metallic, not so great now, but not nasty. Still well worth drinking for everything else that’s going on. 14) 40s 98c 15) 50s 98c Wow, mint again. Three hours later I still feel very, very good and am taking in Kate Bush’s wonderful Aerial: A(n Endless) Sky of Honey, which is just perfect for now.
This tea has almost no aroma and the taste is very, very light, too. Forget that. This tea is about all the sensations I've described. I can see why the price just went up nearly 50%.