90

So I ended up buying a cake of this tea (at US$76! so funny to look back at my notes and complain that it was expensive at US$60+) and I’ve drunk / given away 100g of it already but realised I never did a proper review with tasting notes. Brewed 8g in my 160ml gaiwan with boiling water.

Rinse. Wet leaf smells sweet and musty, like a sweet underground spring. Or clean peat moss. Second rinse: more spicy and herbal notes – savoury, mushrooms. Gorgeous.

1st infusion: Body a bit thin. Flavour is sour and fruity in the silly jade bowl I got as a gift, but not in porcelain mug (curious!). Porcelain mug portion is fuller, tastes savoury and flavourful, even slight bitterness (in a good way).

2nd: Smells of sour plums, mineral-y like pool water / chlorine. Nothing chocolatey about this pu-erh (unlike other ripes like my Elephant Mtn) but sweet and so intoxicating. It just tastes very satisfying.

3rd: I hit it harder, so the liquor is richer and more substantial and now becoming slightly chocolatey – not a sweet caramelly milk chocolate or deep bitter chocolate but the brighter, sour-fruity artisanal chocolate from Madagascar… but still with a rounded creamy fullness at the end. The finish is so satisfying – now one gets more butterscotch and stout notes. Ughhhh love this tea.

4th & 5th infusions: Busy; didn’t record.

The 6th or 7th infusion I let it steep for like 20 minutes to finish off the leaves. Still no bitterness, just a slight astringency. A nice chocolatey stouty richness.

Rating: 90

Flavors: Butterscotch, Creamy, Dark Chocolate, Fruity, Mineral, Musty, Sour

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 5 OZ / 160 ML
mrmopar

I like this one a lot.

Yang-chu

I wonder what it’s like now?

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Comments

mrmopar

I like this one a lot.

Yang-chu

I wonder what it’s like now?

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Bio

Amateur tea enthusiast here. I told myself I would start with studying Chinese teas when I first encountered good tea at Song Tea in San Francisco in 2016, and it’s now 2023 and I feel like I’m still just beginning to scratch the surface of Chinese teas.

Maybe someday I will move on to Indian, Japanese, Korean, etc. teas…

For my day job I work in tech as well as write some fiction on the side.

The next step in my tea journey is to start training my nose with an aroma kit to get a more precise handle on floral notes.

My Tea Rating Scale: (adapted from @benmw)
100 : Unforgettable, life-changing tea experience.
95–99: Extraordinary – Beyond impressive.
90–94: Impressive – Deep complexity, extreme clarity, or unexpected discovery of wonderful flavor. Made me reconsider the category. Would always want to drink this if I had the chance.
80–89: Delicious – Nuanced, balanced, clear, and complex layering of flavors. Would probably buy this tea again.
70–79: Very Good – Nuanced flavors, perhaps not as balanced or complex as the next step up, but clear and very enjoyable. Would consider buying again if the price was right.
60–69: Good – Clear flavors, representative of the category, but doesn’t set a standard. Good as an everyday tea. Would not buy unless desperate (e.g. when travelling without access to better tea).
50–59: Average. Would not pay money for this, but would drink if it was provided FOC.
30–49: Below Average. Would not drink this again even if it were free.
0–29: Undrinkable. Could not even finish the cup.

Location

Singapore

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