Corax on YiWu Region Wild Grown Pu'er [Sheng, 2003], Xinghai Factory, Menghai

DRY LEAF:
--- color: dark grey/green with brown flecks
--- constituency: fairly sturdily-compressed chunk
--- aroma: virtually nil

TEA-TO-WATER PROPORTIONS [grams to fl oz]:
--- 4 g to 6 oz

VESSEL: gaiwan

FIRST INF:
--- time: 90 sec
--- temp: 195-200F
--- color: pale amber with a green cast
--- aroma: vegetal [cooked spinach?] with a background of smoke
--- taste: the smokiness was very subdued when it came to taste. there was a metallic taste in the liquor that dissipated somewhat in the aftertaste, leaving the vegetal and smoky notes on the tongue.

SECOND INF:
--- time: 60 sec
--- temp: 195-200F
--- color: pale amber, less greenish than INF1
--- aroma: like INF1 but noticeably weaker
--- taste: the smoky quality steps forward in this infusion. noticeably less metallic. more pleasant overall.

THIRD INF:
--- time: 60 sec
--- temp: 195-200F
--- color: medium amber, no noticeable green
--- aroma: faintly smoky; very little vegetal
--- taste: mellow smoky; virtually no vegetal; very little aftertaste

FOURTH INF:
--- time: 60 and 90 sec
--- temp: 195-200F
--- color: [both i and ii] pale/medium amber without green
--- aroma: [both i and ii] mild smoky
--- taste: [both i and ii] mild smoky; mild smoky aftertaste

FIFTH INF:
--- time: 60 and 120 sec
--- temp: 195-200F
--- color: pale yellow/gold
--- aroma: faint smoky
--- taste: very mild, slightly smoky, faint leafy aftertaste; delicious overall

COMMENTS: this is a very pleasant tea. it should be said that i tend to favor wild-grown puers and sheng in any case. the 'earth' factor tends to be lower in shengcha, and this one was no exception. i favor the smoky quality. the astringency was low here throughout the infusion process. i almost did not proceed to INF5, but i'm glad i did; i felt that this was in some ways the nicest infusion of all. certainly, and not surprisingly, the most delicate.