Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2018 Wildwood sheng puer caught my radar fast as they posted a video showing the tea is from a secret remote old growth tea garden. You can only get there by motorcycle and a hike. 2018 Wildwood Sheng is a blend of old and young tree material, all single origin.
Of course, I bought a sample, promptly forgot about it, and it has been in my pumidor for months.
Leaf and Steeping Method
The dry leaf has a tangy and grassy smell.
I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped with boiling water. The hot leaf smells like banana leaf wrapped sticky rice and plantains.
Tasting of Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2018 Wildwood Sheng Puer
First, Second, and Third Infusion: 2018 Wildwood is thick and sticky and somewhat banana, very much like plantains with a bit of sweet and savory. There is soft floral aftertaste afterward.
The tea feels soft to drink too. It’s easy drinking here as there is no bitter or dryness and the notes are a nicely balanced sweet and savory pudding.
The more I drink, the more this tea comes out thick and Pepto bismal coating. I am really susceptible to young sheng gut rot right now and so far I’m doing great.
Fourth and Fifth Infusion: The flavour is slowly shifting. What stands out here is Wildwood’s floral aftertaste, which is a creamy orchid. The tea is still this soft thick goo shifting into a more savory vegetal note.
Sixth and Seventh Infusion: A big shift in flavour here, it went sweet and clover honey. Wildwood sheng has a strong orchid aftertaste. The broth is still soft and thick.
Eighth and Ninth Infusion: Everything was smooth and easy drinking until now, I hit Wildwood’s limit as an astringency showed up. The final infusion I did for 15 minutes. It sips in sweet honey and lightly flavoured, with an astringent orchid finish.
Gut Rot – Low. I feel fine despite my stomach being in a fragile state due to weight cut. There’s no greasy carby foods in me to line my stomach, but Wildwood lined my stomach for me. A win!
Comments
2018 Wildwood sheng is a quality puer with a thick texture and high aroma and aftertaste. There is some astringency but only in the final infusions. It bounces around from sweet and savory and is overall a lighter flavoured tea. If you love a gentle, floral sheng with some complexity, this is it. It is also a good oolong/green lover sheng. The quality is awesome as that texture and aroma is very nice. It is also a cool tea as you can watch a video of the actual product too.
However, Wildwood isn’t for someone who wants a bitter face wrecker. There was a note it was a high energy tea and I did not feel it for this tea session, but enjoyed the tea due to quality and interesting flavour. Intrigue is still my favourite so far out of Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2018 teas.
