This is one of those teas that I love and could drink every day, but when I've served it to others, I found it doesn't appeal to as wide an audience, especially among those with Western tastes. People who like more "serious" Chinese teas like it, it but a lot of people either find it boring or are put-off by the astringency.

The dry leaf of this tea is long and needly, and has a mild but wonderful fragrance that I can't get enough of. I just want to stick my nose in the bag and breathe in, it's a kind of sweet smell that is a seamless blend of malty and floral qualities. The leaf is long and straight enough that you can't easily fit it in a spoon, but instead have to shake it out of the bag or delicately grab the leaf with your fingers.

The cup has a sort of middle-of-the-road character, very balanced in spite of being quite high in astringency. The flavor is a perfect balance of lightly bitter, sweet, sour, and savory all together. It still seems relatively light-bodied in spite of the astringency, which is paradoxical. The aroma is pleasant, mild, and hard to describe in words. It's a little mushroomy, and also reminds me of clean stone. That amazing smell in the dry leaf doesn't come out quite as much in the cup, particularly there is less malty aroma than I expected, but the floral notes come out a lot, and make it seem a bit oolong-like. There are a few hints of dark chocolate and toasty notes in the finish. Overall, the cup is complex, and there is a lot there if you sip mindfully.

Seems relatively highly caffeinated, which makes sense because this has a good portion of buds. This doesn't taste like a typical breakfast tea, but I found I enjoyed it in that role. The flavor and aromatic profile is very different, but the high caffeine and astringency leads to an overall similar drinking experience.

Resteeps excellently. I recommend going shorter on the first steep though than you usually would though, because of the tendency for the first cup to be a bit overbearing on the astringency. The second or later infusions are remarkably crisp tasting, which I like because most teas tend to become more muted on subsequent steeps.

I highly recommend stirring this tea though if you let it sit, or perhaps swirling it a bit if you're drinking it in a larger mug. The astringency has a way of sinking to the bottom of the cup, and it's a much more pleasant experience if you mix it throughout.

And as with everything from Yunnan Sourcing, the price is great!

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