"Buds of Old Trees" GuShu Ya Bao Tea

One of my favorite all time teas. Ive ordered multiple times. Low to no caffiene. Citrus, pine and blueberries notes. Adaptable to different brewing conditions. This tea reminds me of a good clean/crisp sheng but less bitter notes. I drink this meditatively after work as a nice morning wind down. Brewed in a silver or ceramic gaiwan and/or the handmade duan ni yixing square teapot they offer are my favorite vessels for this. The gaiwans bring out the bright notes and the duan ni pot ever so slightly mutes them but also rounds the flavor together nicely. The tea liquor/flavor is very delicate so other vessels ive tried seem to mute too much. The stone fired gaiwan set muted it so much that it almost tasted like straight hot water lol! Although said gaiwan works great with stronger green teas(see other review). Great tea offering and a good change of pace from familiar notes.

Not For The Taste

I like this tea after Misha at PoC came to my rescue and gave me some brewing tips. The tea has a bitter undertone unless you lower the temp, I set it at 85C and do flash steeps 5 seconds working up to 20-40 seconds. It’s a tea I prefer brewing in my porcelain gaiwan, which was another great purchase from PoC. The tea leaves open up and look beautiful against the porcelain. I’m drinking this tea since it’s low in caffeine and it helps me settle down after work. It really helps me unwind. My thoughts are more focused or absent and I mean that in a good way; kinda meditative (as someone else’s review mentioned). Side note to Misha and all, don’t eat anything bitter like cherries (my snack first time I brewed this tea and thought it tasted way too bitter). Cherries already are bitter and pairing them with this tea equated to a bitter disaster 😂 now instead I pair it was cucumbers.

Very subtle, great if you just need something different. Definitely has a blueberry note. I tasted pears and apple peel as well