This tea has been sitting in storage for a while now awaiting the day when I was in the right mood to try it. I had no idea what to expect from the snow chrysanthemums either, so it was a leap into the dark.

The brick is highly compressed. The dry leaf has an earthy, cedar wood aroma. It looks great with the orange of the chrysanthemum flowers in it. Most attractive. The wet leaf is primarily earthy and the liquor brews up thick and dark. My first cup was more wtf than anything else. I got an immediate hit of Dr Pepper and tea tree oil with a cooling minty aftertaste. I steeled myself for the second cup and was glad I did. The flavour had moderated itself a bit. There’s still vanilla and tea tree there, but the underlying earthiness of the puerh is more present with a pleasing cedar flavour and chilli pepper notes. I think this tea may be an acquired taste or one for when the mood hits, but five cups in and I am quite pleased with it. Once you get that initial vanilla and tea tree hit out of the way, there is quite a bit of depth to the tea and plenty to enjoy. It’s still a bit ‘interesting’ though.

Flavors: Cedar, Spicy, Vanilla

Preparation
13 g 6 OZ / 175 ML
Jim Marks

Wouldn’t be surprised if this tea doesn’t settle down in another 5 years or so and become something a lot less all over the place. Some leaf just needs time and nothing else will fix it.

Roughage

You could be right, Jim. The underlying shu seems solid, so I think the rest of it is a result of the addition of chrysanthemums. Perhaps they need more time to blend with the shu.

Now that I know what to expect, I think I can give the tea a fairer hearing next time.

Kirkoneill1988

i shall try the 2013 version someday

ashmanra

Any recommendations on a good source for learning more about puerh? Production areas, major producers, etc. I like both shu and sheng, one of my favorites was Mengku Palace Ripened Golden Buds Puerh and I have a moonlight five year old that I love.

Jim Marks

Check out Tea DB. Those guys are serious about the pu-erh.

tea123

Teadb.org and don’t forget to subscribe :)

Roughage

Sorry about the slow reply, ashmanra. I agree about TeaDB. I’ve also learnt a lot by following The Half Dipper blog (http://half-dipper.blogspot.co.uk/) and MarshalN’s blog (http://www.marshaln.com/) plus dipping into blogs and sites they link to.

Kirkoneill1988

@roughage ive tried chrysanthemum before. but what does the snow variety taste like? i hear they sell the snow version on its own.

Roughage

I’m not sure what the chrysanthemum on its own tastes like, but I suspect that the strong medicinal vanilla flavour was a product of the chrysanth because after a few steeps the tea tasted more like a typical shu.

Kirkoneill1988

hmm maybe it was the flowers :)

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Comments

Jim Marks

Wouldn’t be surprised if this tea doesn’t settle down in another 5 years or so and become something a lot less all over the place. Some leaf just needs time and nothing else will fix it.

Roughage

You could be right, Jim. The underlying shu seems solid, so I think the rest of it is a result of the addition of chrysanthemums. Perhaps they need more time to blend with the shu.

Now that I know what to expect, I think I can give the tea a fairer hearing next time.

Kirkoneill1988

i shall try the 2013 version someday

ashmanra

Any recommendations on a good source for learning more about puerh? Production areas, major producers, etc. I like both shu and sheng, one of my favorites was Mengku Palace Ripened Golden Buds Puerh and I have a moonlight five year old that I love.

Jim Marks

Check out Tea DB. Those guys are serious about the pu-erh.

tea123

Teadb.org and don’t forget to subscribe :)

Roughage

Sorry about the slow reply, ashmanra. I agree about TeaDB. I’ve also learnt a lot by following The Half Dipper blog (http://half-dipper.blogspot.co.uk/) and MarshalN’s blog (http://www.marshaln.com/) plus dipping into blogs and sites they link to.

Kirkoneill1988

@roughage ive tried chrysanthemum before. but what does the snow variety taste like? i hear they sell the snow version on its own.

Roughage

I’m not sure what the chrysanthemum on its own tastes like, but I suspect that the strong medicinal vanilla flavour was a product of the chrysanth because after a few steeps the tea tasted more like a typical shu.

Kirkoneill1988

hmm maybe it was the flowers :)

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Bio

I am a qualified peripatetic berserkerologist peddling berserkjaknowledge at the University of Nottingham.

My favourite teas are Darjeelings, sheng puerhs and Anji Bai Cha. I return to these every time, after whatever flirtation with other teas I have been involved with.

I no longer rate the teas I drink because keeping ratings consistent proved to be rather hard work while not really giving me anything in return.

Location

Nottingham, England

Website

http://ruarighdale.wordpress....

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