Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: varied shades of green, compressed
Steep time: 20 seconds
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: bright gold

There are times that I buy a tea because it’s unique or because I read positive reviews of it. And then there are times where something is a total impulse buy for completely illogical reasons. I must confess that I purchased this tea solely because of the wrapper design. The girl relaxing in a clay teapot hot tub is basically a portrait of my inner self. This one that I definitely plan to frame once I drink through the cake. I knew it was a pretty safe bet, even with buying it blindly, because I have enjoyed every tea that I have ever tried from Crimson Lotus Tea.

Leaf

Daydream is definitely a nice-looking cake. Clocking in at 200 grams, this is a nice compromise between the standard 357g bing and the trendy mini cakes that become so popular. There were lots of silvery buds scattered throughout. This is a multi-year blend with a core of Spring 2018 material. That was easily seen in the varied colors of the leaves. It was stone compressed which is my personal preference. No one wants a tea that will crumble and fall apart but I also don’t want an “iron” cake that will cause bloodshed. White Whale, I’m looking at you!

Liquor

Daydream brewed up a bright gold color with nice clarity. The taste started out surprisingly sweet and mellow with notes of honeysuckle. Don’t let that slow start fool you. This tea has great energy and I found that it immediately lifted my mood every time that I have brewed it. It’s a real cup of sunshine! Over the course of the next few infusions, the mouthfeel became noticeably thicker. The initially subtle honeysuckle intensified into a total floral bomb. There was a sugar cane-like sweetness that lingered around my teeth after each sip.

Overall it was very smooth with only a little dryness, mostly because I prefer using fully boiling water. There was no bitterness whatsoever. This is a tea that even people who think they don’t like sheng puerh would enjoy. It will be interesting to see how it ages in my recently established pumidor. I don’t think I can hold on to it for that long though. The temptation to drink it all is real.

Have you tried Crimson Lotus Tea Daydream? Do you love this wrapper as much as I do? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

2018 Spring Daydream purchased from Crimson Lotus Tea.