Upon opening the paper wrapper, I am hit with a musky smell – rather like walking into an old dark unused library storage room. The cake looks dark and clean with many large twisted leaves mixed with pieces and stems. Easy to pick off leaves for steeping. Stinky tea liquor so I did three quick rinses rather than the usual two. The orange color of the tea soup reflects the age of this cake.
Good complexity. Solid character and flavor profile – sweetness and bitterness work nicely together to achieve a firm base upon which the subtleties of the additional flavors; – hay, camphor, old book leather and stonefruit – reveal themselves throughout the tea session. Most noticeable is the strong Qi in this one – an “energy” that makes me feel very alive and rather happy. Lingering aftertaste. Decent endurance and steep longevity (10-12 infusions) so I’ll likely go back to this little teapot full of happiness sometime over the next two days. Not the most flavorful sheng I have enjoyed but an interesting find indeed.
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I have this and it is still one of my favs. I broke mine up and crocked it. Then put the loose into a ceramic jar, have since drunk up all the loose. Mine improved with airing for sure!
Good to know. This was a sample Daniel “encouraged” me to try. I have not been able to decide if I want to spring for an entire cake.
“Sticky tea liquor so I did three quick rinses” lol I love Puerh, I feel like this is the only occasion I would feel related and ok with that phrase in something I’m about to consume.
You know that’s true, JC. ;-)
Interesting tea. Have you tried this one?
No, but I really want to try it. Sounds really good. I had a 1980s XiaGuan tuo that was the same way at first sniff ‘ahhh the scent of something that hasn’t been opened in decades, this should be good’. lol
Where can I find some of this?
I thought I had mentioned the source in my note but it looks like I forgot to do so. I recently picked up teas from The Chinese Tea Shop in Vancouver. Here’s the direct link to the online store:
http://store.thechineseteashop.com/1990_s_Ding_Xing_Hao_Pu_erh_Tea_Cake_Raw_Sheng_p/pugc-dxh-90.htm
Thanks! I’ll check them out. Its always cool to find new places to try. :D
Great. Good place to pick up teas with decent age on them. Fast processing and delivery.
I have this and it is still one of my favs. I broke mine up and crocked it. Then put the loose into a ceramic jar, have since drunk up all the loose. Mine improved with airing for sure!
Good to know. This was a sample Daniel “encouraged” me to try. I have not been able to decide if I want to spring for an entire cake.
“Sticky tea liquor so I did three quick rinses” lol I love Puerh, I feel like this is the only occasion I would feel related and ok with that phrase in something I’m about to consume.
You know that’s true, JC. ;-)
Interesting tea. Have you tried this one?
No, but I really want to try it. Sounds really good. I had a 1980s XiaGuan tuo that was the same way at first sniff ‘ahhh the scent of something that hasn’t been opened in decades, this should be good’. lol
Where can I find some of this?
I thought I had mentioned the source in my note but it looks like I forgot to do so. I recently picked up teas from The Chinese Tea Shop in Vancouver. Here’s the direct link to the online store:
http://store.thechineseteashop.com/1990_s_Ding_Xing_Hao_Pu_erh_Tea_Cake_Raw_Sheng_p/pugc-dxh-90.htm
Thanks! I’ll check them out. Its always cool to find new places to try. :D
Great. Good place to pick up teas with decent age on them. Fast processing and delivery.