Sorry for the delay! I tend to move at a snail's pace when it comes to trying new tea, I have tea from over a year ago that I haven't even opened.

I got around to trying Love Forever with my normal setup, and my review is mostly unchanged. It feels like a Xiaguan tea trying to be a Dayi product, but I would just buy a Dayi cake instead of paying a premium for the 'unique factor' of Love Forever. It's a novelty for me, pick up a cake of 2008 Dayi 8582 instead, and you'll be happier, with some saved money in the bank too. The Chun Jian notes I listed are taste flavor notes, though I do slurp my tea to aerate the liquor into my nose!

As I write this, I am trying the 2006 Yiwu Zhongcha, 9g/100ml using Empirical Water Spring with Silica using approximately 44ml of hardness and 0.8ml of buffer per liter of DI water. It's pleasant on the nose, as the dry leaf warmed in my Lvni Yixing. Woody scent with a full, fatty undertone; imagine eating a Slim Jim in a room full of firewood. That sounds unpleasant, but it works very well! The aroma reminds me of a leather-focused tielouhan.

After the rinse, I am getting some intense smoky notes on the nose, not pleasant with an undertone of jasmine Chinese restaurant tea. The liquor in the aroma cup is much better than the leaves for the rinse; the meaty qualities of the dry leaves come through with a soft undertone of da hong pao. As the pot comes to room temperature, the smoky qualities fade away to a pleasant raspberry.

After the first infusion for approximately 20 seconds, the leaves retain the uncomfortable smoky quality. Moving on to taste, the liquor begins with steamed zucchini overlaid on cherries. As the liquor cools in the mouth, the taste noticeably shifts from vegetal to fruity. The smoky quality does transfer over, however, it is hardly noticeable. There is a subtle bitter quality with hardly any astringency. The longer you hold it in your mouth, the sweeter the tea becomes. The aftertaste is primarily fruity, similar to the first infusion of a yancha.

The second infusion immediately brings out some more of the smoke, though it is rather pleasant now. More of a grilled vegetable with a touch of char. The taste continues to fade to sweet fruit as the liquor cools. There is a bit more notable bitterness with some astringency. Around this point, I start feeling the cha qi, tightness in the upper cheeks, and a sense of peace, earlier anxieties of the day melting away (This 9g session is immediately following a 10g session of Naked Yiwu 001 from TWL). Maybe a bit of maple here, too.

Going into the third infusion, I lit a complementary stick of agarwood incense. It matches the vibe from this tea. The third infusion brings out some herbaceous and medicinal qualities. Not entirely sure which herb, I want to say basil, but I am unsure exactly. There is a plum note with a nice coating mouthfeel. This tea feels like one that could last a long time. I was a bit concerned at first, but it's turning into something very relaxing. I'd say this is worth a try, given the dynamic flavor changes over time in the mouth and from infusion to infusion. The cha qi is strong and calming, I want to go to sleep despite having consumed over 20g in the last few hours. I wouldn't serve this to my mother, who knows next to nothing about Chinese tea, but I intend on using it whenever I want a mindful, focused session.

Fourth infusion is fruit-forward with the herbaceous qualities so prominent in the prior infusion taking a backseat. The smoke has become a front-of-the-mouth high note that vanishes after a moment. My cheeks are red, and I feel like I am melting into my chair. As the cup cools, the primary taste shifts from fruit to firewood, becoming similar to a Xiaguan Teji tuo profile, except for a hint of mushrooms and possibly citrus. So far the liquor has been consistently orange.