There’s no need to ask, the ’08 Buddha Impressions (400g) is a smooth operator. Yes, even a tobacco class production can be a smooth operator. The dry leaves release a deliciously sweet tobacco aroma along the lines of a big-leaf chewing tobacco plug: sugary, moist, inviting. Immediately the Water Blue Mark comes to mind, but the WBM is laced with fruit whereas the Buddha Impressions is just tobaccoey and rich. Yeah, there’s smoke but it isn’t the overriding spirit.
Drink now and forever hold your peace, but don’t fret if you decide to store.
The first impressions of the broth are sweet, soft, and smooth but with a balancing and assertive astringency. It carries a thread of bitterness that can be picked up at the back end. The mouthfeel is thick and round with a daisy chain of taste suggestions, particularly amaretto. in the end is the decisive profile, capturing a melange of tropical spices like clove, ginger, allspice, nutmeg. You can smell it in the empty cup as well. As it cools the sweetness becomes more pronounced. There is an enveloping sense of warmth that comes through.
Finally, there is a certifiable qi to this though it seems to fluctuate but always in the head. Sometimes the headiness is subtle after a few pots and at other times a couple pots will send you to the stars. Stored in Los Angeles since Nov 2020. 400g.
.47¢
| Size | 20g, 400g |
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