Thanks. I was brewing it as a black tea with 205 F water(95 C). When doing the second steep, I tried full boil and seemed to get better results.
I realize that this is the green tea forum, but thought folks familiar with Fur Peak teas might know about both green and black teas. I presume the leaves start out in a similar manner but are processed differently.
Huangshan Maofeng
I received some 2025 Handmade Qimen Mao Feng from The Sweetest Dew and have been preparing it according to instructions from @LeoFox on the grandpa brewing thread (3 g/120 ml/60, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 seconds, plus 2, 3, 5, 10 minutes). I can really taste the firing in the first two steeps, which produce a saline, smokey, sweet, and slightly vegetal liquor that I quite enjoy, despite usually disliking smokey teas. The smoke dissipates in later steeps, leaving a beany, vegetal, sweet, and slightly saline tea that slowly fades over the session and doesn't become overly astringent. Next time, I'll use 4 g to see if it makes a difference.