(from my notes 6/23/19 as I try to figure out pu-erhs)
Either my tastes or changing or I am a much more demanding tea drinker.
This stuff brews to deep dark black red. Even after 6 steeps, it stays this color. Brewed GF. 208 deg F. Short steeps 10s, 20s, 25, 35, 45, 60. (5 grams tea / 100 ml of water)
Amazing amount of cha Qi in this ripe puerh. I’m pleasantly surprised. The leaves smell of sweet cedar & moss with earthy undertones. It’s got a viscous mouthfeel but it’s not a dry tea. This tea has very little bitterness but has a bit of light astringency.
Overall, it’s a well-balanced, smooth, and quite drinkable tea although watch out for the cha Qi. I was quite buzzed before I finished the first 100ml. (maybe I should have ate first)
By the 2nd 100ml, I could feel the chi in my head, and then got that slight heat flush by the 4th. By the 6th steep most of that was gone and I can tell that the tea was going to wash out within the next 2 steeps
But it’s too well-balanced for me. There’s nothing to distinguish this tea in flavor and while I like a good bit of Tea drunkenness, I want to rewarded with a distinct flavor.
I was drinking a Four Seasons Oolong earlier in the day and that particular cultivar has amazing flavor so perhaps this just pales in comparison? Or maybe I’m not getting into puerhs like I had hoped.
Flavors: Earth, Malt, Tobacco
