SpiritThief Send Message

I think this is a great tea for the price, though definitely not the best oolong I’ve ever had. I did enjoy this and would buy it again if I’m tighter on money.

I brewed this twice, first according to the instructions and then unconventionally in my gaiwan. I much preferred the unconventional brew to the one by the instructions. The one where I followed the instructions turned out extremely bitter with very light notes of chocolate and mainly tasted like I’d just liked a log used for a campfire, so not something I’d describe as pleasant. I initially thought this tea was pretty terrible but decided to give it another shot in my gaiwan- I brewed it with steeps of 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 1min, 1:30, 2:00, etc. I managed to get nearly 20 steeps out of the leaves this way and I was able to taste the much subtler notes that were covered before. It tasted very sweet and had an aftertaste of a malty dark chocolate, with hints of caramel. It certainly wasn’t a traditional tieguanyin by any means but I would continue to brew this in my gaiwan rather than follow the instructions.

Let me start this by saying I’m newer to puerh and the tea world in general, so my review won’t be as descriptive as most. However, this is by far my favorite tea I’ve had. I brewed this in my gaiwan with 10g leaf to 150ml water. This is a VERY dark tea, but one that I found extremely flavorful. The first steep was a brownish-gold, with each subsequent steep getting darker and darker until about the 7th steep. That’s where it seemed to reach its maximum dark and was almost like oil in the cup.

Let’s talk flavors- this is the best shou puerh I’ve ever tasted. It was a very thick, dark brew that had notes of burnt sugar, hay, and grass, but in a good way. It went down extremely smooth and tasted sweeter than any other shou I’ve ever had. The leaves smelled like a dark, chocolatey coffee when placed in a warmed gaiwan before adding water.

This tea keeps on going. I managed to get 14 steeps and would definitely like to see if I can push it any further before it totally gives in. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a good experience with a shou, especially if they’re a beginner like I am.