u/DavidWALRU5

Earlier in my puerh journey, I read here that if you don't like sheng at first, just keep drinking it and it will grow on you. This has turned out to be completely true for me.

I had a quick gongfu session before work one morning (I believe it was the 2016 XiaGuan "Lv Se Sheng Tai") and found myself craving the huigan for hours after. Since then, I have been seeking that delightful bitterness and diving deeper into different shengs.

1. Is there a difference between what is described as "bitter" and "astringent"?

My understanding is that bitter is a flavor - I find it delicious, like a hoppy beer, as it leads to huigan - and astringent is a feeling - biting into and drying out the palate (reminds me of over-brewed black tea bags that turn so many westerners off from tea).

2. What are good recommendations for bitter (if I'm describing that right) shengs? I like strong tea, so in a perfect world, a low-cost daily-drinker sheng that can be thrown generously into a thermos, without getting astringent is ideal.

So far, I'm seeing that there is more bitterness in young shengs, but some can also be a bit grassy, almost reminding me of yerba mate (not ideal). They can also be over-brewed more easily and become astringent. My favorite so far is the white2tea 2023 941.

I welcome any correction and insight into the terms and thoughts I have so far. Thanks in advance!

Interested how many people here come from the motorcycle world vs only ride motorized bicycles.

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