90

Been wanting to review this for a while now, but chose to delay so I could let one of the bricks air out a bit. I ended up getting 5 bricks before the price rise which only cost $75 (£45) for 500 grams of this. Already we are in “major bargain” territory, possibly underpriced in my opinion. Bricks are wrapped in a “tailor made” white2tea white wrapper with a rather charming portrait of Moby Dick on the front. I like the simplistic nature of this…usually a sign of good things ahead. I stick on a Mastodon album called Leviathan to get me into the right frame of mind. Leviathan is a progressive metal concept album all about…you guessed it, Moby Dick. Here are my tasting notes…

I break apart 7 grams of this which goes straight into my 130ml yixing. Two quick 3 second rinses and I smell the wet leaves. I am getting some woody smoke, with a dash of malt in the background. The smokiness reminds me of the aroma of a classic Scottish Malt whisky, like the amazing Lagavulin. Very nice indeed. However the wet leaves reveal a lot of chop stems, so visually this is not the most impressive puerh I have seen. I remind myself that appearances can be deceiving.

I take my first proper steep at 7 seconds. Liquid is already coming out dark amber in colour. I take my first sip…very smooth, clean, crisp and precise, hints of woody smokiness, nice balance of savoury and sweetness, reasonable thickness, and minty coolness already beginning to develop on the tongue.

Second steep and third steep are similar to my first steep. The malty aroma of the wet leaves is now much more apparent with the smokiness lingering more in the background. QI is beginning to develop, my body begins to calm. I would not classify this as a sweet puerh, but I am enjoying the subdued sweetness in the back of the throat. This puerh also has a tasty, long finish which I find really enjoyable between steeps.

Later steepings and I am getting some light camphor notes, adding another dimension to this bargain priced tea. I do prefer a stronger camphor taste in my aged puerh, but who knows maybe a brick or two needs to lie down for a few years to develop further. Maybe not…we will have to wait and see.

I am now at 11 steeps and this is still delivering on taste. I could possibly push this a lot further but decide to let the leaves rest until tomorrow. Really great durability. A really calm, relaxing 3 hour tea session. Overall, this an excellent semi aged puer, at an even more excellent price. Sure this is not the grandest aged puerh I have ever had, however those ones command a much higher price tag. Really good value in my opinion. I know the price has now gone up to $23 per brick but I still think even at this price this is still very good value for money.

I really enjoyed the subdued woody smokiness texture, however I can understand and appreciate that these sort of notes will not be to everyone’s liking. Keep an eye on your steep times…I did 7 seconds consistently for at least half a dozen steeps and was very satisfied with the results. So yeah this is another surprising puerh from white2tea that punches well above its price. It’s a puerh I could quite easily drink on a daily basis, however I really should keep a few bricks to age further. Many thanks to white2tea for another great bargain!

Flavors: Camphor, Malt, Smoke, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 4 OZ / 130 ML
boychik

Great review! what the temp.? i have a sample but i dont want to ruin

DarkStar

Hi boychik. Don’t know the exact temperature but basically boiled water, then I let it sit for 3 minutes to cool down slightly. This worked out nicely for me.

boychik

Ok little cooled, not boiled. Thanks

mrmopar

I really liked this one as well.

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boychik

Great review! what the temp.? i have a sample but i dont want to ruin

DarkStar

Hi boychik. Don’t know the exact temperature but basically boiled water, then I let it sit for 3 minutes to cool down slightly. This worked out nicely for me.

boychik

Ok little cooled, not boiled. Thanks

mrmopar

I really liked this one as well.

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I live and work in cold Aberdeen, Scotland at the moment. Main interests are music – Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Doom Metal, 70’s Psychedelic Rock etc.

Tea journey began with oolongs and within 6 months changed to pu-erh. I have not looked back since. Been drinking pu-erh solidly everyday for the last few years. Always on the lookout for good puerh bargains, so if you spot any message me.

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