2016 EoT Wuliang single tree

// Published June 7, 2017 by mgualt

4.8g/85ml glazed pot [8.1]

This sample of Spring 2016 maocha from a single tree in Wuliang was included as part of the Fall 2016 shipment of the Essence of Tea club.  It gave me one of the most remarkable sessions with a young sheng that I’ve had thus far.

The material is intact, reasonably tightly twisted maocha, quite dark when dry, and the dry aroma is fruity but with a darker background of gasoline-like strength.  The wash is yellow, very clean, with no smoke, geosmin, or funk, and very proper, with no oddities, green or oolong aroma notes.  The wash gives significant alerting and a small but clear rush of energy.

1. Pure and thick, not sweet, more savoury-salty.  Salivation in the throat with a significant depression of the rear throat.  Heat and some shivering in the lower rear ribs.  Within a few moments, a cooling blast, quite strong energetic effect begins very early.
2. Aroma is more interesting as the leaves open up, nice resinous perfume and some mild fresh florals. Very good depth in the throat and feeling of weight in the mouth.  Major uplifting qi from stomach moving slowly up, frisson on back and sholulders.  Very active in the very rear and center of tongue.  Late sweetness in the throat. Remarkably clear in these aspects of rear throat activity.
3. Major uplift and frisson, sweating, super rear tongue activity of briny salivation with late sweetness.  The qi is not jittery and is not putting me to sleep, it is of the purely uplifting, cooling, frisson type.
4. Growing in thickness to high now.  Quite amazing energy waves, frisson, and sweat.  The youth and green aspect is now more present and I would say that while it is not harsh, it is definitely punching me.
5. punches continue
6. more punching
7. Bitterness increasing now but with a great deal of sweet aftertaste moving now from the rear tongue to the very tip of tongue, which is highly active now.
8. Very interesting complex sweetness now begins to be part of the dominant taste, which is a greener version of the sweet herbals that you get in the dominant taste of Mid-aged Yiwu sheng.  Striking energy in the neck and face. Not numbing or sleepy, but uplifting.
9.  Long delay, frisson continues for about 2 hours, return with a quick steep to restart.
10. Complex sweet-juicy-bitter dominant taste now, with a resurgence of frisson.
11. Longer steeps now give much better and juicier flavour with very good throat activity again concentrated in the rear tongue
12. Fantastic juicy sweet aftertaste.
13. Much less thick now, bubbles no longer remain on the surface, but flavour is very nice.
14. An overly long steep gives too much bitterness, and a blast of cooling
15. Thermos steep 1: Amazing mouthfeel and qi is quite incredible.
16. Thermos steep 2: still punching hard and with an inspiring uplift.

This is my first tasting of the Autumn 2016 club shipment from EoT.  This Wuliang is really remarkable, one of the best year-old shengs I’ve had to date.   The material is a mix of different sizes of leaves, consistent with the single-tree claim I suppose, very sturdy and seemingly processed very well, with no sign (to me) of processing flaws.  Unfortunately, also consistent with the above-mentioned claims is the fact that this tea is not available for sale.

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