Out of the 2021 shengs, White2tea’s 2021 Yashka caught my eye. Sheng blends that are punchy, elegant, and bitter are always up my alley. That said, I purchased a sample with one of my orders.
Leaf and Steeping Method
The leaves have the scent of sweet honey and warmed fall leaves. Sometimes I find this scent smells like drool, but I am not sure if that’s my own drool and that can vary between drools. Either way, this tea smells like my drool hahah!
I used a gongfu ratio of 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, steeped in boiling water. After a rinse, the leaves smell of hot sticky rice.
Tasting of White2tea’s 2021 Yashka Sheng Puer
First, Second, and Third Infusion: I did a sip of the rinse and Yashka is strong! The official first steep is potent and bitter. I noticed the dense thickness, like drinking rapid currents of water. The flavor is hard to peg down. The best I can do is Yashka tastes like a blended jasmine floral, bitter incense with a sticky dry aftertaste. After a sip, the floral aroma slinks in and deepens.
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Infusion: Yashka is going more potent, reaching the pinnacle of flavor, tasting bitter, stemmy stewed floral vegetables. It’s strangely potent yet watery, again back to thick water currents. The aftertaste is getting stronger jasmine aftertaste. I’m getting gut rot here, realizing drinking this before lunch was a bad idea.
Seventh and Eighth Infusion: Bitter bitter bitter! Yashka is straight-up super bitter concentrated jasmine floral. I’m fearing to drink these steepings, but the aroma is A+. My stomach is telling me off, and that box of Flaming Hot Cheetos Mac and Cheese is looking really good right now.
Ninth and Tenth Infusion: The final infusions of Yashka are light marigolds and honey before the astringency sets in drying the top of the tongue. The bitterness is mostly checked out but the jasmine aroma is trying to punch through.
Comments
White2tea’s 2021 Yashka excels in thick texture and aroma – it is certainly classy and punchy! It’s fresh sheng in taste with the water notes and the potent yet mellow flavor. That’s something, in my experience, will tighten up with some time. Yashka will be rocking in the future with good storage. Right now, it’s for those who love a highly aromatic and bitter young sheng.
