First tasting of today is Crimson Lotus 2013 lucky cloud. This is a very dark medium sized cake, rather tightly compressed. This is one of the first full cakes Ive gotten instead of samples, so the first order of business was breaking into the cake. Since I dont have a puerh pick, I found a small thin cheese knife instead and worked it around the edge. Breaking off a about a 3 1/3 gram piece, then I scraped up a few of the broken pieces that fell off and in the yixing they all go, it was a bit over 4 grams total.
Giving it a quick wash that was all it needed, a single wash. It produced a clear very light brown liquor, giving it a good smell, a tiny sip and then tossing the rest of the wash, I decided it was ready to infuse.
The first infusion produced a very dark brown liquor as the leaves opened up, an aroma of peat, plums and caramel greeted me. And though it had a very slight fermentation aroma it wasnt at all unpleasant, it came out smooth and clean. The broth was sweet, smooth and with a nice pleasant aftertaste.
The second infusion was much darker producing a nearly black liquor that was dark,creamy, smooth and sweet. The flavor was a little more intense and actually made my tongue tingle a little. This is a very nice tea with a good mouth feel and a smooth sweetness. Dont let the dark color fool you, this is a wonderful afternoon sipping tea.
The third infusion was about the same darkness, showing this tea was going to have alot of staying power, the taste and aroma might be even a bit stronger. The slight tingle got a bit more pronounced. I really like this tea alot.. it would go well with strong foods, ones that you might think would overpower the tea.
The fourth was the same as the third, again showing the staying power of a good shou puerh. The flavors and aromas are staying pretty consistent at this point, the umami might be getting a bit more pronounced though, as well as the mouthfeel getting a bit more intense as well.
Im going to go finish up this tea, but I have a feeling Ill be steeping this for a while.
I highly recomend this to anyone who likes shou puerh! This is going up there with my favorite tea!
Flavors: Cacao, Caramel, Peat, Plum
