I’ve got to stop reading other’s reviews before I write my own. It just makes me grumpy. Same goes for books. Do they make this stuff up? Are we consuming/reading the same thing?
So after the last Shou Pu-erh, I was a little/very gun shy. The fish that’s sat on the dock all day in the sun taste and smell may have scarred me for life. I’m actually shocked I tried again. But I have come to trust Brenden enough to know that’s he’s not going to try to pass something off that is utterly terrible. It might not be something I like, but it won’t be decomposing fish.
However, I was still paranoid, so I gave it a good 90s rinse in boiling water. I did not detect fish in the wet leaves so I then steeped it for another 60-90s. Yes, i ignored the directions, but I did mention the paranoia. Significantly longer rinse, about half the steep time.
It took me a while to get the guts up to actually sniff the result. i had a lot of trouble identifying the smell. Its not fish though which made me a little hopeful. And then I had a conversation with a coworker on what a Shou Pu-erh is and a basic on how it is made. And he told me about a Burmese Tea leaf salad, one of which form is made from fermented tea leaves. Ah, delaying tactics.
While this conversation was going on, I kept sniffing, trying to identify what I was smelling. Dirt maybe? I think there’s some there but its not the main thing. And then it hit me. Old leather work boots. Not the stinky foot smell part of it, but the old well worn leather work boots with some dried mud on them.
So, in my celebration on the absence or rotting fish, I should say what I actually think of this. But I honestly don’t have an opinion yet. Its not disgusting. I think I need to give myself some distance and come back to it with the expectations of leather, dirt, and maybe tobacco instead of rotting fish.
No rating this time around.
Flavors: Dirt, Leather, Tobacco
