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drank Fengqing Ancient Tree Spring Chun Jian Raw Pu-erh Cake Tea 2012 by Teavivre
1379 tasting notes

I have bought over 1000g of Pu Erh in the last few days… it would seem my tea cravings are for ripe rather than my preferential raw. Well I have this sample with me and now is as good a time as any to indulge myself with some Pu Erh magic.

This Pu Erh has beautiful reflective golden tips with dark brown and mature green leaves all compacted into one chunky cake piece. I love reflective leaves, like cats eyes, just so beautiful. The Pu Erh has little hairs and looks to be wonderful quality.

Still raw it has a sweet earthen floral scent. Like dirt and flowers and wood all blended together. A tree would be perfect to use in my explanation as it has all three.

I have my Gongfu teapot with me so I shall use that to brew this tea. Using Teavivre guide here is my layout -

Tea :10g 5 steeps:30s,1m,2m,3m,4m 100ºC/212ºF

First Steep – 30 seconds

The tea soup is light yellow in colour with a gentle wooden yet grassy scent.

Flavour is sweet and a little smoky. Picking up wood, grass, flowers and dark honey. All in one gentle and mild package.

Second steep – 1 minutes

Much stronger with new sensations of musk and perfume. Less sweet and no longer honeyed and has been replaced with a slight dryness.

Third steep – 2 minutes

Side note – The cake piece has almost fully broken apart and expanded to reveal fresh, long, green leaves.

Flavour is thicker with more musk and wood but carrying on well in style. Only a little astringent towards the after taste but still very nice.

Fourth Steep – 3 minutes

Side note – Pu Erh is completely broken up now.

Mellowing a lot in flavour and the astringency has completely gone. The sweetness has still not quite returned but it is more noticeable than the previous steep. As to what is left I can taste clearly grass, flowers and musk.

Fifth steep – 4 minutes

Very little left at all in this now. Wood, grass and musk in a pinch can be tasted but personally for me it’s one steep too much.

Overall – It’s been a nice raw Pu Erh but it was not as special as some others I have had from Teavivre. I love raw Pu Erh (despite my recent cravings) and it’s such a shame that I didn’t love this one. I really liked it though and enjoyed drinking it. Would not buy it again in the future mainly because I prefer a few others but would drink it again very happily.
Preparation
Boiling
1 comments
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darky
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you bought a kilo puerth?! you got yourself a stash for ages lol

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darky
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you bought a kilo puerth?! you got yourself a stash for ages lol

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Bio

I’m 34 years old from Leicester, England named Kayleigh.

I started off many years ago drinking herbal and fruit teas which over time peaked my interest in trying new types. Eventually I began to import and sample many different teas and cultures which I still do today. My life goal is to try as many teas and ways of having tea as possible.

Tea wise my cravings change constantly from pu erh one month to jasmine green to the next and so on.

I also enjoy watching Japanese Anime and horror films.

I am always up for tea swaps so if you see anything in my virtual cupboard then please contact me.

A short list to help swapping with me easier though honestly I am not fussy and am willing to try anything. Plus the notes below are usually, sometimes I love a tea that has an ingredient I tend to dislike and other times I hate a tea that I thought I would love.

Likes: Any fruit but especially melon and orange, vanilla, all tea types (black, green, white etc), nuts (any), flowers, ginger, chai.

Dislikes: Licorice, aniseed, clove, eucalyptus, lavender.

My rating system
I have my own way of rating teas that makes each one personal. I have different categories, I rate each tea depending on what it is made of. For example: I rate green teas in a different way to black teas or herbal teas. So black, white, green, Pu Erh, Rooibos, Oolong, blends and tisanes all have their own rating system. That way I can compare them with other teas of the same or similar type before for an adequate rating. And when I do give top marks which is very rare I am actually saying that I would love to drink that tea all day, every day if possible. It’s a tea that I would never turn down or not be in the mood for. So while I agree that no tea is 100% perfect (as nothing is) I am saying that it’s as close as it comes to it. After all, in my book the perfect teas (or close to perfect anyway) are ones that I could drink all the time. That is why you will find a high quality black or Oolong will not have as high a score as a cheap flavoured blend, they are simply not being compared in the same category.

Location

Leicester, England, United Kingdom

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