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Wonderful toasted smells come off the tea even when dry. Toasted rice, spent grains from brewing, along with a background of subtle higher notes on the nose (ylang, narcissus, floral but not sweet if that makes sense.) Brews a wonderful first cup, roughly 185f for 30-45s, although I’ve also grandpa’d it and that works fine too. Toasty, flavorful, plenty of mouthfeel. Highly drinkable. 2nd and 3rd pours stay that way, rich, roasted flavors coming off but not overwhelming, plenty of background high notes to let you know this is Oolong. By the 4th and 5th pours though, it turns a bit ‘brothy’ in a way that I actually quite enjoy. Almost a vegetable broth flavor, but for some odd reason gives me a headache. Odd. I only usually get that from oversteeped tea, not from late sesh pours. So I stop this one at pour #4 and call it a day.

Not sure about the roast profile, has a good charcoal smell to it but it could be electronic roaster as far as I know. Not too strong, but definitely the highlight of the tea.

This is my first 7581. For starters, I cannot for the life of me figure out what the D denotes in the naming by Camellia Sinensis, whom this tea is from, but their reputation is great, so I have no doubt this is authentic. 2004, from what I have found, was during an odd time for Pu Erh production, and for CCCP Pu Erh especially. From what I have sussed out, the Kunming factory, while not directly CCCP, is affiliated with and produced tea under their labels/management, however they are also known to have made some of the better and more consistent teas of the group. (https://teadb.org/cnnp-zhongcha/)

Anyways, on to the tea. I’ve brewed this 2-3 times now, each time learning the tea and making better choices. On it’s own it has some salt to it, not much wo dui dampness, but enough to have a velvety soil smell, like fresh forest floor. It is on the peppery side, with an astringency and a very slight ‘kick’ that makes it stand out for other shou. Better to use a little extra leaf although the chunks are somewhat delicate and prone to crumbling if you try to peel them apart.

As I’ve learned this tea, I’ve decided to throw in a punch of the Rishi Tea loose Pu erh, which has a much richer wo dui mustiness and a half to one whole Chrysanthemum pod. The Rishi Pu Erh provides a smokiness and mustiness that the original tea is lacking and the Chrysanthemum pod accentuates the spice characteristics that this tea has. All together, they balance to complement this fine red tea. I would definitely place this firmly on the spice/soil side of Pu Erh as opposed to the must/wo dui side.

It is a coating flavor, finishing at the back of the palate, and leaves a nice lingering astringency that is pleasant if you avoid overbrewing. Mildly drying, not a problem though.

Notes of mushrooms, broth, roasted root vegetables, forest floor, wet rocks, salt, minerality, wet metal, dry heartwoods, black pepper

I’m new to tea in general and this is my first Ceylon, so I don’t have anything to compare it to but considering what I’ve read about single estate Ceylon, this seems like a well balanced, fruity but not cloying, sweet but in a rich tasting way tea. beautiful nose of stone fruit, spent grain, muscatel flavors right off the bat. Slightly astringent but not overly drying. Coating in the best possible way. Smooth flavors, no real off notes. Classic EB Ceylon Aroma but not stereotypicaly fruity. Richer, deeper flavor, more nuanced than any EB you’ll encounter. Fair amount of twig is evident once re-hydrated. Brews a gorgeous, clear amber red liquor. A beautiful tasting tea

Breweing this way early, could easily use another couple years to lose some of it’s more astringent properties. Pleasant level of soil smell and taste, muted though, more like oak because of its astringency. Clay, old leather, mushroom flavors all present. This would be a good shu to mature, but if you drink it now (2017), brew it short and expect that astringency you get from alkaloid rich herbs like Yellow Dock or Goldenseal.

Recent lot/blend (9/2017). Short brews. Seems to brew dark, not opaque but 15 seconds was plenty of time to get good extraction for the first couple pours. Starts woody, flavors of potting soil, loam, fresh tree bark, with some sappyness, not sweet but rich, with a thick liquor. A lot of forest floor wo dui but not the smoke aspect that loose leaf commodity shu can have. Cert. Organic which is nice. Neither the best nor the worst, a totally acceptable, pleasant, prototypical tea. As others have noted, this is not the single best vintage stored in the absolute best conditions, that is out there if you want it, but if you are open to trying teas, learning brands, experiencing tea as it is, this is a good shu for the money. Great shu for meals.

Strong Milky Oolong aroma on the raw tea. Creamy, floral, not over flavored either like some Milk Oolongs can be. Liquor is thick mouthfeel, creamy feeling even, coating the whole pallet with a prolonged and pleasant aftertaste. Tastes of warm frothed milk, Matcha notes, with a back end of uncut grass and white tea, with no astringency or dryness whatsoever. Not an everyday tea by any means but a wonderful break from some sweeter and also darker teas. Would make for an amazing tea Pannacotta.

Nice, full leaves with minimal breakage; signs of decent storage and transport for a longer leaf pu erh. Liquor smells and tastes of gourds, wet wood, limes, with a back end of floral sweetness way at the rear of the palette. A thin bodied tea but with plenty of character, young but promising, smooth with a minimal but pleasant dryness. Flavors expand through middle rounds, neither waning nor growing, just changing. Late steepings get interesting, complex ‘green’ flavors.

Followed Man Chas instructions (3g/250ml, 30s/40s/45s/etc. Smooth, lots of mouthfeel early on, strong flavor of dark honey, not saccharine sweet though, w/ molasses and dark malt initially. Hints of honeysuckle/lilac, apricots, sweet potato. Developing over the pours to a slightly more tannic mouthfeel, showing it’s Oolong roots on the nose more as the rounds go on. Leaves show a nice oxidation on the boarders once opened, a tea that looks like it was made with care and knowledge. Possibly too sweet for some but perfect on a cool fall afternoon in Massachusetts. Will be buying more to stash.