A woozy doozy of an aged White tea - sweet, syrupy, fruity, fermented and potent - prepare to take the rest of the day off!
The third in our series of aged Fuding Shou Mei's after the treasured 'Sunfire Ripple' and 'Midsummer Lightshow'. It has been three years of waiting and tasting but finally we have a very worthy successor.
Diamond Twilight is made from a 2012 Fuding Shou Mei which was produced the right way - sun withered and finished with a long, low-temperature charcoal baking to give it concentration, character and stability for long-term ageing.
Diamond Twilight has all of the fruity, confectionary indulgence that we crave for in an aged White - think apples stuffed with marzipan and raisins, baked with a copious sprinkling of dark, brown sugar and served with a drizzle of evaporated milk.
It also has that special fermented alcoholic richness that comes with excellent storage and carries a wealth of woodsy, herbal and jammy aromatics. Imagine flambe-ing that baked apple with a barrel-aged port wine or calvados.
But there is a sherbet powder fizz, elderflower zing and pottery studio minerality to Diamond Twilight which pushes the experience further into areas rarely visited by other aged Whites. It evokes nostalgic imagery of summer evenings lounging in a city park, art classes and childhood candy.
The tasting expereince is warm and heady with so much to enjoy and uncover that this would be more than enough to warrant buying a tong.
And then the body sensation kicks in - fuzzy, woozy, giggly and most definitely tea drunk. It leaves a contented grin on the face which lasts for hours.
If you are already a lover of aged White teas then I guess that this tea is already in your shopping bag and if you are dipping your toes into this tea style then let's make this one your first cake purchase - they don't come any better than this beauty.
