The tea temperature scale does not allow me to represent that I put it through water at 210F, as the instructions demanded “near-boiling” water without specifying a temperature. This is the first time I have brewed this tea with my new kettle that reaches precise temperatures and with water filtered by my new pitcher.
I washed the leaves in 210F water for 30 seconds and discarded the liquor before the first infusion. This is likely why the liquor has none of the fishy pile flavor like the first time I brewed it. Instead, it is a very mellow flavor.
This is a ripe shou puerh and is apparently fairly middling in quality. I suppose I will have to try the fancy stuff. This is a review of the 1st infusion, but I know this tea stands up to 8 or more.
It’s very mellow and mild and if I was using my unfiltered tap water I would not be able to taste a lot of the notes in it. It’s almost savory, but has a sweet aftertaste on the tongue. If I wanted to adulterate it, I would probably add lemon to bring that out more.
It’s slightly roasty but not really, more just a full flavor on the tongue. I imagine the slight astringency comes from me steeping it at too high a temperature, I will probably try something like 200F when doing a “near-boil” next time. That might be part of the normal profile though. It goes away on later infusions.
This is a good morning tea, maybe with something savory like a pork bao or something, I don’t have one but that’s what I wish I was eating with this tea.
Flavors: Clean, Earthy, Leather, Mushrooms, Roasty, Smooth, Sweet
