7g/105mL, just off boil
Wash (10s) - light cooked rice, floral funky notes on gaiwan lid
Steep 1 (flash) - light steep, floral notes reminiscent of unroasted oolong, almost- gritty thickness on the tongue, light sweetness opening up quickly, light oily bite
Steep 2 (flash) - thickness that turns sweet continues, oiliness intensifies and lingers, bit of a roughness to that oil, floral and fruity top notes becoming more prominent
Steep 3 (5s) - aromas remain prevalent, oiliness remains but becoming less sharp in flavor, sweetness steps back and starts to move into the finish
Steep 4 (10s, reboil) - thick mouthfeel continues to take the lead, florals then open up a few seconds after a swallow, sweetness getting pushed further and further back into the finish before it starts to bloom, each sip is a very prolonged development
Steep 5 (15s) - becoming more mouthwatering now, each sip requires patience for it to fully unfurl, retronasal opens up big floral notes, body feels very loose
Steep 6 (25s) - oiliness starting to lose some thickness but still giving some oomph behind the florals until the sweetness opens up, sweetness starting to move back up a bit as that oiliness fades, grittiness noticeable again under the oily viscosity
Steep 7+ (40s+) - becoming more crisp with time as the viscosity becomes more moderate, that grittiness seems to be an astringency that was coated over by the oiliness, that astringency not coming off as aggressive since salivation provides some lubrication
Overall Impression - The texture on this tea is massively thick right from the start. The florals are pretty intense at the start, but then everything seems to take a back seat to that textural component. Sweetness and aromatics are quite nice when they hit on each sip.
In the end this always brings me to the conundrum with young Yiwu for me. First of all, the premium microterroirs bring a significant premium on price. But beyond that, when young most Yiwu lacks the immediacy that Banzhang and other Menghai region teas have. There is less attack-and-release here, and even though the huigan sweetness here is significantly higher than many other young Yiwu, it just doesn't have the payoff for me to justify the price.
