The dry leaf has an aroma very unique to quality jin jun mei that sets it far apart from something like a Dian Hong. It's got a tangy, roasted cream note with lychee and rose to top it off.
Infusions
- The wet leaf has a complex aroma that's difficult to describe. It's very almondy, with a charred fruit and roasted floral aspect. There's definitely a ton there with some sour, sweet, savory, and vegetal notes that I'm not experienced enough to map (Update: little gf identified green bean and she is so true). The flavor is almost like a fruity herbal tisane, it's quite intense. There's a really intriguing chocolatey note, kind of like those fancy assorted chocolate-covered mystery boxes with solid and cream-filled biscuit things. A bit of strawberry and plum. I'm also getting a bittersweet almond finish wrapped in florals. That strawberry plum stays with the aftertaste for quite a long time. There's a lot of life to this and it's incredibly cheap.
- The wet leaf has an even stronger almond, Turkish delight scent. The flavor carries a large portion of that smell as well. You could probably get away with a bit less leaf than what I've done - it's pretty intense but not overbrewed.
- Tangy rosewater with a hint of vegetation and fleeting sweetness that is all consumed by rose and plum.
- Upped to 125mL water. A 5g leaf/100mL water would be a fine ratio for this one. The experience is quite consistent with the previous brews.
- It's still very consistent and I can't notice much change, will continue to steep and provide notes if that experience changes.
From my admittedly novice experience relative to many in the tea world, I'd damn near stand by w2t's claim that 'you won't find a better black tea in this price tier'.