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First time trying Yunnan Sourcing tea (previously only ordered from Teavivre).

It reminds me very much of the TV sheng that I had reviewed previously. It’s resoundingly….average. I’m getting some generic sheng flavor and aroma, but the bitterness overwhelms any nuance. Perhaps with a few more steeps the petrol notes will go away and I’ll get some smokiness.

Overall, not bad as an introduction to pu’erh, and perhaps as a daily drinker, when I don’t want something special, but it’s certainly not something special.

All that being said, the QPR (Quality-Price Ratio) is decent at $9 per brick.

I was in the mood for something that was soft, yet a bit punchy, so I grabbed one of these mini-tuos

First steeping: the chrysanthemum definitely rides up front, but doesn’t overpower the shou.

Second steeping: the floral tones are still dominant, but it isn’t as dominant as it was previously. chocolatey notes are starting to become more apparent.

This pattern repeated over subsequent steepings, but even when oversteeped, it wasn’t overly bitter or astringent.

Nothing too complicated but has a comforting sense to it.

I’m putting one tuocha into my pot and brewing.

First steep, extremely pale, almost like nothing got extracted. A touch of earthiness, but pretty weak.

Second steep: a little better but still fairly bland. I get a vague, general tea/puerh flavor, but nothing distinct.

Third steep: I let it sit for 40 seconds before pouring. I’d rather overbrew at this point than drink the tea equivalent of Miller Lite (to which is what I’d equate the first two steepings). Finally, starting to get somewhere, getting that earthy puerh flavor, but still not very strong.

Fourth steep: getting more of that copper/brown color in the cup and some astringency, no earthiness.

I’ll finish this tuocha but Not a fan in general

Quite enjoyable, complex and reserved black tea. As the leaves unfurl over several steepings, chocolate and leather aromas come out, confirmed on the palate. Very little astringency comapred to most black teas I’ve experienced. Nice and mellow, a joy to drink.

I have been working through the cake off and on for about 6 months now. At first I found it so bitter and astringent, that some of the secondary “puerh” flavors didn’t come out at all. I put the cake away for about 10 weeks and brought it out again yesterday for the first time in a while.

The astringency has mellowed somewhat (perhaps because I’m getting leaves deeper in the cake at this point?) and I’m getting more citrus and “green” notes beyond tannin. Sometimes I get a hint of leather.

I will finish this cake, and I have a second cake that I’ll eventually open, but not for a while. I am going to age it and see if it improves at all in a year or so.

Important point, which may explain some of what I experienced early on, is that most of the leaves in my gaiwan are broken. I only see a few whole leaves per pot.