Gongfu, 100C, one planet (>8g)/110mL.
I was intimidated to try this because I’ve heard that puerh from the Lincang region is really punchy when young but a great candidate for aging….and this is a 2017 and I don’t like astringency but I decided to go with my small gaiwan rather than lowering the leaf:water ratio in my bigger gaiwan.
I liked this a lot :).
After loosening the planet up, I noticed that most of the material is really tippy
Steep 1 after loosening up the leaves with a rinse, I sniff the lid and think I’m stuffing my face into some cotton candy! The sip isn’t super flavorful, but after swallowing leaves a clean, crisp, sweet sensation like sugar snap peas which I love
Steep 2: still clean but more herbaceous, not astringent at all yet which I had been bracing myself for so…shrug. I like this a lot so far.
When I take a sip of Steep 4,…whoa. I immediately think of Italian Wedding Soup as weird as it sounds, this reminds me of basil, maybe a hint of thyme too. This also has me feeling like whoaaa! loads of energy. Also the cup smells like cotton candy when sipping down. I will note definitely don’t steep this too long, steep 5 was definitely too long, and the liquor came out cloudy and bitter.
By steep 7, the herbaceous bite left. I think I’m used to having bitterness up front from young sheng followed by a late sweetness. This is reversed here—intense sweetness up front that gives way to some crisp bitterness but not totally unpleasant.
All in all this was pretty damn good, and I definitely learned something about my tastes in puerh. Maybe I’ll start exploring the Lincang region more…
Flavors: Bitter, Cotton Candy, Herbaceous, Peas, Powdered Sugar, Sugar, Thyme
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You taste so many notes! I wish I had your palate. Awesome!
Just had a YS 2017 Lincang myself and wasn’t overpowering either. Definitely hear about the killer young Lincang or Mengku but I didn’t have a problem with yesterday’s. Then again, it may have been an Autumn tea.
Oh gosh, I’m so new and still learning, I don’t think I have a particularly great palate, fidgetiest!
Kev, I hadn’t considered the time of harvest, that’s a great point and maybe what was different. I had avoided Lincang because I’m so sensitive to astringency/bitterness but its definitely something I’m willing to dipping my toes into now, figuratively speaking.
Definitely a stronger region for those flavors… I enjoy them very much but I only hit them every once in a while when I need it. Try literally, no more athletes foot. Haha ;) enjoy it.
You taste so many notes! I wish I had your palate. Awesome!
Just had a YS 2017 Lincang myself and wasn’t overpowering either. Definitely hear about the killer young Lincang or Mengku but I didn’t have a problem with yesterday’s. Then again, it may have been an Autumn tea.
Oh gosh, I’m so new and still learning, I don’t think I have a particularly great palate, fidgetiest!
Kev, I hadn’t considered the time of harvest, that’s a great point and maybe what was different. I had avoided Lincang because I’m so sensitive to astringency/bitterness but its definitely something I’m willing to dipping my toes into now, figuratively speaking.
Definitely a stronger region for those flavors… I enjoy them very much but I only hit them every once in a while when I need it. Try literally, no more athletes foot. Haha ;) enjoy it.