Infusions

1. This is incredibly aromatic. The first infusion leaf smells even more intense than the rinsed leaf: pine sol, new car, the smell of bein in a real nice restaurant in the city, candied lemon. Mouthfeel is super funky, it's almost fluffy - stupid soft, coating, not astringent. Flavor is fantastic, a complete departure from what you expect to experience with sheng without compromising on the aspects that make for a good sheng. LP nailed the description of this. Sour lemon drop and kombucha. There's a pleasing vegetal note in there like parsley or tarragon that acts like a stand for the florals and fruits to translate to a strong body. I also really like the amount of sour in the flavor, it's not overbearing and doesn't focus on that. You can find a similar type of sourness in a tie guan yin. Finish is lasting with some menthol cooling, complimenting a fruity aroma.
2. Very similar to the first with a bit more zest and punch. Similar flavors to purple yaobao with more body.
3. Reminiscent of mandarin sherbet. Some pungency to the citrus and more floral fruit flavors. You can brew this quite hard without any bitterness.
4. Still holding true to the prior, not noticing a ton of difference
5. More muscatel flavors and honeys with a very light character, still holding a good body which is what I normally find lacking in purple bud - luckily not the case here. Also noticing that non-ripened purple tea reliably gives me a really bad headache 😾
6. Pine forest notes
7. Let this one infuse for 2 and a half hours and there was no bitterness, just real thick mouthfeel and body with that muscatel kombucha flavor