First tea I’m trying out of my big Bitterleaf order. Probably the best Yiwu I’ve had (though I have not done much exploration of that region yet). Now that I’ve ordered 2016 teas from White2Tea, Bitterleaf, and Crimson Lotus, I think I’ll finally be able to lay off ordering for a while. I brewed some of this baby up in my Jianshui teapot – 6.6g to 100mL.
This tea is pretty consistently sweet and soft from start to finish. I got some honey and mineral notes for the sweetness. Often those kind of came together and reminded me an awful lot of graham crackers. I didn’t note any astringency, which is nice for such young puerh. In a couple of the middle steeps I sometimes got just a slight sour finish. Every once in a while that sourness took on a bit of a fruity character, but I could have just been imagining that. The body is pretty good, but not amazing. In the first half of the session, it has a bit of a buttery taste/texture as well, which I really enjoyed. Not thick and oily, but kind of silky. The tea starts to die off around 10 or 11 steeps, so pretty standard longevity. I noticed a bit of a buzzy feeling building in my upper body towards the end of this session, so I’d characterize the tea as having a gentle, slowly building qi.
Glad I get to try Bitterleaf’s tea, and if this cake (and Diamond Cutter, which I’ve already had) is any indication, there’s going to be some really good stuff in my box from them. At the current price, this cake is a hell of a deal, and I could definitely see myself picking one up next time I make a Bitterleaf order.
Flavors: Butter, Graham Cracker, Honey, Mineral, Sweet
I really like this one, too.