Sample picked from the Pu’erh Plus TTB. The label said 2013 Year of the Snake, “picked up in Hong Kong,” but since there is more than one entry for this shou, I’m placing my review here.
There was also another note on the packet: “Xin Cha: tea tree Lincang”.
Brewed in a ceramic gaiwan. Gave the leaf two 5-second rinses and a 2-minute rest. Steeping times: 8 seconds, 10, 8, 10, 10, 15, 20, 40; 1 minute, 2, 5, 10.
The dry leaf smells of leather and chocolate, and after resting in the pre-heated gaiwan, it smells like those little Brookside chocolate-covered fruits (the pomegranate and blueberry/acai ones specifically). Nothing like inhaling a ghost of a dessert.
The soup is clear and dark red, full-bodied, and smells of brown sugar. Even after resting in a zip baggie for at least a month, the leaf still has signs of plenty of humid storage. It was until infusion 6 that the fermentation taste went away completely, but there was some interesting development until then. 1 tastes sour, completely of fermentation. 2 is bitter-ish but also fruity, with a silky texture. 3 through 6 are much sweeter, but only on my tongue – the back of my throat tastes like coffee grinds. A cocoa aftertaste follows. These flavors are quite robust.
For infusions 7 through 11, a woody note replaces the fermentation and the intensity of flavor lightens (still sweet). The coffee grinds are still present in the back of the throat. The texture is creamy. The 12th infusion – the last one, very long steeping time – completely tastes of wood.
Additionally: I felt a little sluggish in the middle of the session. Relaxed sluggish.
