2013 SHOU MEI

50 g bag 
Fuding, China 2013
vanilla / cream / dried dates / leather
 
The wet leaves, when allowed to cool, exude a rich and velvety vanilla aroma perfectly backed by hidden floral notes, like a bouquet of dried flowers in an old library. The brew is mineral rich and thick, with lingering sweetness in the empty cup.
 
Aged white tea tends to follow one of two tracks. Sometimes the aroma of the leaves rise in fragrance until the tea almost entirely drifts away. These teas are all about the nose and upper palate. 
 
2013 Shoumei takes another track. This tea sinks down into its mineral roots as its aged, with all sweetness locked in tight, but still present, under the oil coils of earthy notes. As the session progresses, dried date and flower fragrances that one would expect in an aged white peony appear. The qi of this tea hits like a tidal wave, with profound huigan.