The leaves of this cake are deep olive green and brown. In a warm gongfu sized teapot (100ml) they have an earthy smell that quite reminds me of the aroma of ripe puer. After a rinse, the leaves smell like forest floor, pepper, a hint of leather, and night air in dry grasslands, a scent you’ll be very familiar with if you grew up among them. There are hints of wildflowers.
I decided to brew this tea at 194F/90C rather than my usual 203F/95C for raw puer. With young raw puer, brewing it at this slightly lower temperature really softens the flavor and keeps the bitterness most young raw puer has at bay.
Mostly, the scent I’m getting from the rinse infusion is of sweet dough. The color of the liquid is a muted peach. The flavor is very mouth-filling and rich. It tastes leafy and a bit woody, but more on the leafy side. There’s a really nice earthiness to it, and it is mild on the palate, almost sweet, but not quite. As it cools, the flavor is more like vanilla bean and mineral. The taste really lingers after a sip.
Jingmai is a tea producing region I am very fond of. I have only had a few teas from there now, but every one I’ve had has been really special and of such distinguished quality. The terroir there produces some flavors you just can’t replicate elsewhere.
The second infusion of this tea offers a bit more of a peppery note in the taste, and hints of bitterness, but overall the flavor is very smooth just like the first. Again, I’m quite impressed by how this tea seems to hit the palate all at once, but in a very mild way.
So far, the flavor of this tea is not changing drastically from one infusion to the next. It’s a pretty straightforward woodsy puer, but it has a really nice calmness to it. Like the other teas I’ve had from WYMM Tea, this one has a very clean taste. I imagine this would be a great one for those who like a nice woodsy/herbaceous raw puer. As I steep this further, a little note of floral emerges, but it is subtle. By about the fifth steeping there’s a subtle note of citrus, and this continues on through the later steepings.
All in all, a really agreeable Puer. While this one didn’t have quite the exciting and unique flavor notes I’m used to from Jingmai Puer, it did teach me more about the diversity of flavors in that area, and this was a solid, really nice Puer, one I kept wanting to drink and not put down.
Flavors: Citrus, Floral, Forest Floor, Mineral, Pepper, Vanilla
Preparation
Comments
Thanks for your detailed review Lion, glad you enjoyed it! Ancient tree tea gardens cover 18.67 sqkm on Jingmai mountain. Just like you mentioned, difference in plant orientation, soil components and precipitation can deliver distinct flavours of tea (while the trees are geographically very close) :)
Lion, Excellent review!
Thank you, looseTman!
Agreed this is a nice Jingmai for sure.
It’s very nice. I used 205F and it was very pleasant and creamy smooth
Thanks for your detailed review Lion, glad you enjoyed it! Ancient tree tea gardens cover 18.67 sqkm on Jingmai mountain. Just like you mentioned, difference in plant orientation, soil components and precipitation can deliver distinct flavours of tea (while the trees are geographically very close) :)