Crimson Lotus' 2013 Xiaguan 'Holy Flame' Bayoan Sheng. Like being hit with a big thick hard-packed brick. Of sheng. And you like it.

Thick, tight tea with a wallop of energy and a very long after-taste, strong Chi, Huigan, whatever the fuck ya'll call it. Astringent, biting and A-Ok to me. It tasted as if it could be a very expensive tea, (of the Misty Peak variety perhaps!) Had I been told it was, and had it prepared for me and given to me in a pretty cup as if the cup itself contained liquid gold, I would totally have believed it.
(I tend to be a advocate for buying into whatever I am being told, especially if it makes me feel special.)
However. Having had to pry the brick apart myself and seeing the quality of the material I knew it was indeed a very basic tea, and at $17 for a 250 gram brick, including shipping? Well, I wasn't surprised. I cut the living shit out of my finger trying to pry it apart. My first bleed. I squeezed and squeezed my perfectly bloodied fingertip. I savored it. Is that weird?
The tea broth is YUMMY, not subtle, very intense and quite intentionally bitter, certainly as good a sheng as I've had. God, what does that say about my palate? I still don't have one? Or this is a really good tea, made from ugly materials that is a bargain at twice the price?
I'm leaning towards the latter. No... wait, the former. Aw hell, both.
In any case. This is a good tea, dudes. And for that price I don't care how ugly the leaves are. If it weren't for the potential of really hurting myself  I'd probably buy two or three of these bricks. In fact, I still might.

(Photos stolen from CLT. I cannot take a pretty picture of this tea to save my life. Plus I'm frigging bleeding, so gimme a break! Off to make steeps five through...)