Thought 1. "THIS is weird." Followed by thought 2. "I LOVE it."

Back in December I tried a sheng from the wonderful Thai sellers, Teaside in which I did not write up because I was unfazed at the time. Today I tried it again. First sip of first steep after initial rinse was "This is weird." But please note it was not my usual "This is WEIRD!!!" proclamation but more of a subtle revealing of something new, not a bad weird just very, very different from anything I remember drinking. Like ever.
Second sip, was "Yeah, and I love it!"
This may be the sheng to bring me out of my Puerh doldrums, though being from Thailand, I guess it isn't really Puerh, but a Puerh-style tea?
In any case, this sheng, called Hong Tai Chang 0801 raw/organic from 2006 is super redolent of raisins!Yum. At least I think its raisins. Its notes are of a slightly sour fruit and it's funky-fabulous. Second steep began to bring out more tangy mineral notes, third steep both fruit and spiciness overtook that metallic edge, and it smoothed out, and sadly burned out more quickly than I would have liked. It was so nice to have a totally new flavor on my palate! And to think just a few short months ago I was like, "Meh" and stuck it in a tin in the bottom drawer of my Puerh storage vault. I am such a dumb-ass.
Ooh! Looks like they still have some, and you can find it here! Make sure and email me directly, as usual to give me your feedback should you be fortunate enough to play around with this frolicsome brew. Enjoy!