I got a treat of a tea today – Moychay’s 2019 Gu Shu Yin Ya White tea. This 100 gram silver needle cake is from the Jinggu region and gushu (old tree) material.
Leaf and Steeping Method
Hot hoots, this cake is gorgeous!
Gu Shu Yin Ya is also one of the best smelling white teas out of all of Moychay ones I have. The scent is a heavy heady floral bouquet to make my nose itch.
I went with my usual white tea gongfu ratio of 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel size, infused in boiling water. I drank the rinse as I couldn’t wait to drink this tea. The infused leaves unveiled a more intense sugared floral aroma.
Tasting of Moychay’s 2019 Gu Shu Yin Ya White Tea
First and Second Infusion: The early infusions of Gu Shu Yin Ya revealed a texture is thick like cotton batting while the flavor is golden delicious apples and tree sap.
Third, Fourth, and Fifth Infusion: Gu Shu Yin Ya White tea opened up and it is sweet but underripe berries, rustic softwood, and sap notes, with a blooming perfumed floral as if I got hosed by the perfume counter. The aftertaste is a bit of the candy apple. Some sips are spicey, like some fresh oregano, whereas others are milky.
Sixth, Seventh, and Eight Infusion: At the sixth infusion, Gu Shu Yin Ya brews up golden. I now realize this tea was a bad decision to drink near my caffeine cut off as I can feel the upper surge in me.
These infusions develop some astringency, adding dryness to the top of the tongue. Gu Shu Yin Ya’s flavor is a meld of the rustic herby, woodsy notes, lime zest, with some autumn fruit, blasted with perfume. Each infusion gets drier, but locks in a long lingering woody floral aftertaste.
White tea has low caffeine, my owl butt. The rustic, campy, yet elegant nature of this tea wants me to go chopping down trees in heels. Someone is also ringing the dinner bell with my head.
Ninth and Tenth Infusion: Gu Shu Yin Ya is quite dry now, and tastes like bitter stewed herbs, however, the floral sweetness is still going along with some wood resin. I can also feel that stomach cramping gut rot that I tend to get from young sheng. The final infusion is throat seizing dry so I didn’t want to continue anymore.
Comments
Moychay’s 2019 Gu Shu Yin Ya is like drinking glamping – it is complex, rustic, woodsy, herby, fruity, but also strongly floral perfume. Out of all the silver needle cakes I’ve had, this one is by far superior due to the complex notes and energy.
I am not going to age this white tea, it is delicious now and likely I won’t keep my hands off it to age it.
(tea provided for review)
