I am a fan of this factory's teas. This Bingdao cake is a refined affair; beautiful leaves and just the perfect amount of compression.
This is actually my first taste of this particular cake, as it has been sitting in my tea cabinet patiently for a few months. I had samples of it previously, so I was finishing those up before digging into the cake itself. I sampled this today with about 6 grams of leaf in my favorite 100mL Yixing pot. I rinsed the leaves twice before ingesting anything.
1st infusion: very light. Grainy aroma, no bitterness. Sweet, but clearly the leaves haven't given up much.
2nd infusion: malted barley aroma, grassy. A hint of bitterness at the end. More complexity and sweetness.
3rd infusion: Now we are talking. Shiitake mushrooms, grains. Still a light tea, but a lot of subtlety here. Bitterness is picking up, but it is a caress, not a slap. I feel the energy in waves.
4th infusion: More of the same goodness. Long, long huigan. Some cooling sensation in the mouth, but it is light. My head is throbbing - a good sensation.
It soldiers on until I give in, but there is plenty more to be had. I like this tea, though it is quite light. I think it is a good example of a "one step up tea" compared to the plantation teas that are out there. It is refined and honest, with no tweaking to the soup; its charms are one to savor slowly while watching the world go by. Looking at the leaves, it is largely buds and small leaf/bud sets.
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