Like this:

Four Seasons Nantou ‘Si ji Chun’: perfectly custom made for us: Check.

Jin Shuan Oolong: Got that creamy milky fragrance this year! : Check

Tung Ting Oolong: High floral fragrance, Taiwan undertow of spicy notes, exceptional as always: Check

Charcoal Roast Tung Ting: Spiffy and fresh out of the  charcoal pit, roasted for 20 hours or so. Excellent now but should let it sit for 3-4 more months for the fire taste to subside.

High Mountain Light Roast: Exceptional, but compared to what? There are hardly other teas on the planet in its league.  Have never fallen below my expectations. Never had to downgrade.  It’s lonely at the top.

High Mountain Dark Roast: aside from fiery, it is intense and fragrant at the same time. Breathe through upper palate to appreciate the layers.

and…

the  Royal Courtesan I fought with my life for? (exaggeration. I had merely not spray enough DEET on myself)

Perfumey and elegant as always, but very intoxicating, this batch.  No other tea is quite like it. Mrs. Su, our producer-wonder, says the bugs were plentiful but chewed on the leaves a bit haphazardly this year, so the worst looking bites produced the best tasting tea, but some leaves still looked presentable. “Hen Xiang” is all she will say about it, meaning very fragrant. We know better. A Courtesan is temperamental, shows up when she feels like it, and her presence is announced well in advance with her fragrance. Then she intoxicates you. What a more apt namesake for this tea?

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