{NB: review from 25g sample, not whole cake}
Dry leaf – SWEET, FRUIT, HERBAL: bitter honey, honeysuckle, dill, fragrant wood/incense; in pre-heated vessel: prune, dried date and fig more prominent
Smell – WOOD, FLORAL: fragrant wood, light honeysuckle, some smokiness and ash
Taste – SWEET, GRASSY, VEGETAL, FRUIT: prominent bitter honey, green hay, fragrant wood smoke – hickory?, nice vegetal flavors of bitter green, some steamed green bean, musty. Undertones of lightly brewed English breakfast tea, dry spice (nutmeg), hints of fig and date, some ashy notes. Creamy lactose sweetness in aftertaste, prune and date flavors strong in aftertaste.
Well – there’s quite a bit going on here. For a young raw, this is very pleasant and has great flavors going on. There is some astringency, but personally, I don’t find it to be overbearing. It’s pleasant like a cup of good black coffee.
This one has me intrigued. I like the range of flavors that it offers. Additionally, it makes you burst into sweat when you drink it. I know this is a common pu’erh side effect, but this one isn’t messing around. Who knows what kind of chemical voodoo is responsible for that, but it’s fun nonetheless. Nothing like waking up on a Saturday morning and going toe-to-toe with your tea.
One final note – personally, I felt like the more interesting flavors petered out fairly quickly. I’m no expert, but I will chalk that up to the tea’s youth. However, there were several other reviews that made special mention of the longevity of this tea, but that just wasn’t my experience. Could be user error, I guess. Interestingly, I had a better experience with a clay pot (7g/160ml) than a gaiwan (4.5g/60ml), even though the gaiwan had a higher leaf:water ratio.
Anyway, my sample is gone and I simply looked forward to every session I had with this tea. Is definitely on the short list for my next pu’erh purchase.
