I’m pretty inexperienced when it comes to pu erh, but now that I’ve tasted this once before, I’m starting to understand why it’s highly rated.
Though the description says that it is leathery, I don’t get leathery, but I think that is because as I mentioned before, what others taste as fishy I often taste as leathery. Which, if I connect the dots, means that this is not a fishy pu erh (despite the smell of the dry leaf). Which, from what I’ve read, means that it is a higher quality one.
(But now I have to figure out why I’m not getting leather when I should get leather according to the description.)
What I get instead is a very smooth, mellow tea. I said in my last note that it tastes deeper than the Dante, but on an absolute scale it doesn’t strike me as overly deep in flavor. By which I mean it isn’t as richly flavored as some of the better non-pu-erh teas I’ve had, which is interesting because the liquor is very dark, like almost espresso dark, but with a reddish tinge. Sort of cabernet colored. I would never expect that color from the dry leaf, which is a medium brown (though the leaves becomes dark chocolate/coffee ground colored after steeping).
There is a definite earthiness to the flavor. I said tree bark/moss before. This time around, having an idea what to expect, I’m getting more mushroom flavor. Not so much raw mushroom as cooked, but without a flavoring agent like butter or wine. Wood flavor? Eh, maybe. Perhaps that’s what I’m getting as the tree bark/moss flavor. Like being in a dense, deciduous forest after a cool rain.
I’m on my third steep as I write this. I’ll be putting it through more as I work on my writing assignment due in (gulp) about two hours. (I hope I won’t regret drinking it this late at night.) Next time I’ll try it in the Yixing pot.
Rating it higher than the Dante, but not prepared to rate it exceptionally high until I know my way around pu erh a bit better.
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Mushroomy? My interest is piqued. I’ve been allergic to mushrooms for years, but tea wouldn’t make my face go all numb and swollen! GET IN!
Yeah, it’s an interesting flavor. I was trying to think of something else to compare it to, some root vegetable perhaps, but it really doesn’t strike me as having the spicy flavor of most root vegetables, or the metallic flavor of potato.
Mushroomy? My interest is piqued. I’ve been allergic to mushrooms for years, but tea wouldn’t make my face go all numb and swollen! GET IN!
Yeah, it’s an interesting flavor. I was trying to think of something else to compare it to, some root vegetable perhaps, but it really doesn’t strike me as having the spicy flavor of most root vegetables, or the metallic flavor of potato.