I decided to try this first in the gaiwan so that I could get to know it before trying it in the Yixing, in the hopes of seeing whether and to what extent the Yixing changes the flavor.
I get a leathery, fish oil smell from the dry leaf, which is smoothed out some after rinsing and steeping but is still a bit fishier than the other Adagio shu I’ve had, the Dante. The steeped leaves smell like raw white mushrooms.
I was doing homework with no. 2 while sipping this and he sniffed it and said “smells like salmon.” A few seconds later he said, “I don’t like salmon.”
I do like salmon as it happens, but I am not sure what I think about this tea. Those with far more sophisticated palates when it comes to pu-erh than I, with respect to which I freely admit to being a novice compared to some other tea types, have pretty much unanimously liked this one judging by the notes. But to me it doesn’t have as much flavor as the Dante. It’s smoother, for sure, and earthier where the Dante is more leathery. (This doesn’t taste like salmon, regardless of aroma.)
Perhaps the problem is I expected it to taste more like the Dante than it does, or more like the Emperor’s Pu-erh from Numi, both of which have the more leathery flavor.
This is a deeper flavor, more like mossy tree bark than leather. I put it through about seven steeps starting at 15 seconds and working up to around 50.
I think I need to try it again in the gaiwan now that I’m prepared for it to be different than the others I’ve had and see how it tastes before I graduate to the Yixing with it.
Not rating for now.
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If you like the leather, one of Butiki’s puerh, I think purple buds, is soooooo leathery. An interesting experience for me, but not a favourite. :)
That sounds like an interesting one, for sure. I like leathery okay, but it isn’t something I can do often and I have to be in the mood for it, sort of like really smoky flavors. I’m mostly surprised to taste such a variation between pu-erhs, though I shouldn’t be—I’m just at the beginning stages of learning to appreciate them. I’ve only had the Numi, the Adagio and the Samovar so far, and I have a ton more to try.
If you like the leather, one of Butiki’s puerh, I think purple buds, is soooooo leathery. An interesting experience for me, but not a favourite. :)
That sounds like an interesting one, for sure. I like leathery okay, but it isn’t something I can do often and I have to be in the mood for it, sort of like really smoky flavors. I’m mostly surprised to taste such a variation between pu-erhs, though I shouldn’t be—I’m just at the beginning stages of learning to appreciate them. I’ve only had the Numi, the Adagio and the Samovar so far, and I have a ton more to try.