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__Morgana__ drank Pu Er Vintage 1992 by American Tea Room

2036 tasting notes

Adventures in pu-erh part…. I’ve forgotten what part. Four maybe. I’m getting the steeping times committed to memory, finally. Following the typical times in the gaiwan for this one after a rinse: 10, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 120, 240, 300, 360.

I have yet to branch out to sheng, but I’ll do that for my second of the day. For now, pretty sure this is shu given the smell of the dry leaf. 2 parts fish to 1 part earth.

The first steep smells like mushrooms and looks like black coffee. I definitely get a cedar note in the flavor — like the inside of my cedar chest smells. I understand the mineral description though it isn’t like crushed gravel to me. In fact, if I hadn’t read the description this probably wouldn’t have struck me as having a rocky or mineral note. Steep two is earthier, less woody, with just a hint of sweetness. Starting at steep three, the earth becomes less like loam with later steeps and develops a character that is hard to describe. It’s not really molasses, but it has a little of that sweetness and just the slightest leather note.

I took this through ten steeps. It didn’t change much from steep to steep, except that around steep 8, the liquor started to lighten to a brandy color. The flavor stayed rather consistently like steep 3, only a bit less strong and a bit sweeter with later steeps. It’s smooth, and you don’t have to think about it too much — which is good because I was on episode 10 of the first season of The Expanse while I was drinking it.

Flavors: Cedar, Earth, Fishy, Leather, Loam, Molasses, Mushrooms

Preparation

Boiling

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3 comments

mrmopar
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What has happened to that show. I was totally enthralled by it. The proteus molecule.

tea-sipper
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The Expanse is moving to Amazon Prime. I’ve only watched the first season, as I’m trying to catch up on the books. So many books.

__Morgana__
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I am in season 2 now (almost to the end). One more season until I’m caught up.

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mrmopar
Delete

What has happened to that show. I was totally enthralled by it. The proteus molecule.

tea-sipper
Delete

The Expanse is moving to Amazon Prime. I’ve only watched the first season, as I’m trying to catch up on the books. So many books.

__Morgana__
Delete

I am in season 2 now (almost to the end). One more season until I’m caught up.

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes