Expanding my knowledge of pu-erh today with a sample of this! Using about 6 g of the dry leaf; it came as pieces broken from a cake, the leaves tightly compacted and smelling sweet. I decided to go with 200 F water and a first rinse of 10 sec. First steep of ~10 sec results in a pale amber liquid. First sips remind me of hay, with a light sweetness to finish. There’s a note I haven’t tasted before, an almost minty coolness. Probably that menthol I’ve seen mentioned in someone’s previous tasting note. I catch some apricot too, in there.
Second steep 15 sec. Shade of the liquid is darker, now, and the chunk is beginning to loosen up. Some of the free leaves are opened already, and prove to be small. The first sips are creamy, a bit grassy, and the apricot note has disappeared. It leaves a pleasant tingle on my tongue
Third steep 20 sec. Liquid is now a richer amber color with a trace of the smell of hay. The flavors are light still, no hints of bitterness. A note of hay, mixed with some cream.
Fourth steep 30 sec. Hoping to get some more flavor, but doesn’t seem to have changed much from the last steep. A tinge of astringency has appeared, though.
Flavors: Astringent, Cream, Grass, Hay, Smooth, Sweet
