Huang Zhi Xiang

5g · 80ml Jingdezhen porcelain gaiwan · boiling water

The dry leaves open with charcoal roast, caramel, honey and sweet white flowers. Gardenia is the first impression, followed by hints of jasmine. Beneath the flowers sit traces of woodland and fresh timber.

Warming the gaiwan brings yellow rock sugar, clear honey and the warmth of the roast.

The first infusion is filled with white flowers. Gardenia forms the centre of the bouquet. Given time, the same aroma begins to separate into frangipani, southern magnolia and jasmine. These flowers do not appear one after another but remain woven together within a single floral fragrance. Beneath them are fresh peach kernel and Chinese olive kernel.

The lid carries cream, vanilla and dense white blossoms. With each infusion, the sweetness becomes fuller while the floral character remains unchanged.

The liquor is rich and fluid. It spreads across the tongue as soon as it enters the mouth, coating the palate without pressure or roughness. The flowers gather across the middle and back of the tongue before salivation begins. Breathing through the nose after swallowing carries the fragrance upward, before it gradually settles beyond the palate.

Throughout the session, the flowers remain within the liquor. Sweetness, wood and mountain vegetation stay together without separating from one another. Each infusion gives a little more than the last, while the character of the tea remains unchanged.

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