Finally a pu-erh I can understand. Prepared gongfu, in my Yixing serving my in-laws, teaching them about Chinese tea ceremony and the the different types of teas. Not the most captive audience, they need to get to Brooklyn with the NYC Marathon going on, so I understand. The standard brewing guidelines 2 quick rinses and short steeps.
The aroma is very floral, hints of jasmine, per mother-in-law, and the malty sweetness you come to enjoy when sniffing wet pu-erhs. The flavor is so well structured and smooth I had that aha moment of realization that I was having for the first time a well made and aged raw pu-erh. Yum, the flavor was smoky, malty with stone fruit undertones. The mouth-feel, enveloping and inviting, I couldn’t wait for the next sip. Steeps went out for about 10, could have been more, but I used a larger Yixing to accommodate the 4 of us.
The conundrum this tea has caused, is now I am going to have to buy more high quality raw pu-erhs to get to any even higher level. Whoa is me. As for the in-laws I think they enjoyed it, they were no longer thinking of their travel details and were focused on the soft gentleness the tea had to offer.
