Definitely this was an impulse buy at the Imperial Tea Court where I went to have some superior yellow gold oolong but that’s another story…
Here’s my first green pu-erh tea cake! Am I fully addicted to tea? I almost got a brick too but decided to save that for next time.
I steeped this in boiled water for around 3 minutes but I also noticed the website says 180F so I’ll need to modify this in the future.
I don’t know if I can really describe this with my regular words. It smells a tiny bit like an orange pekoe which has me kind of intrigued. It’s a bit sandalwoody and a bit fruity with a hint of smoke but not overwhelmingly so. I am picking up a lot of tannins here. My tastebuds are tingling with excitement and curiosity. It has a slight effervescent quality. It is definitely a green tea but not like any other green tea I’ve tried before. Mysterious.
I did manage to steep this 3 times before I gave up and decided I’ve had too much caffeine for the day already. By the third infusion it is definitely getting a lot lighter but I suspect if I had used less hot water from the very beginning this would not be the case.
I believe this is only my second green pu-erh, they are growing on me a bit. They are a little gentler than the black pu-erhs but not as sweet and light as the white ones. I did notice ITC had a 2010 green cake for $20 so I am wondering if I should go back and purchase that one and lock it in a vault for 10 years. :)
I am definitely happy with this purchase and it will be great to see how this evolves, I expect it will get better with a few years of aging but I like it pretty well now… I wonder if I can wait long enough for it to age before I drink it all!
Preparation
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Mysterious. Very
By green pu’er cake does it mean sheng / raw / uncooked?
Yes – it seems like the brown ones are all shu but I could be wrong
Ok, that makes sense. Brown is usually shu, but all shengs will eventually turn brown over a few decades or so. Shu was originally “invented” in order to mimic what happens to traditionally aged shengs, without having to wait so long. As a result, many folks find shu pu’er easier to drink, especially since sheng (like this one, it seems) are often fill of astringency for the first four to ten years.
Glad to see you getting into all this! It’s a slippery slope, my friend. I mean, just look at what’s happening to Mr. Geoffrey and Dan Congs! Hope you can fid some bricks to put away. It’s fun to just try them and check up once or twice a year to see how they’re changing.
For reference, the Artisan Revival you tried a little while ago is also a sheng / green pu’er- it’s just not so green anymore. The Xingyangs, on the other hand, were shu.
Thanks for the info – yeah it does seem like kind of a slippery slope…. expensive tea! lol
Well said Spoon….
When you have a tea vault to store tea, you know you’re addicted! I didn’t say it was a problem now did I? :))
I love Dan Congs….now there’s a tea…well I probably wouldn’t sell an organ…but one really never knows for sure! :))
I don’t know if I’ve ever had a Dan Cong, I see Seven Cups has some at 25% off for their end of year sale. Might need to get one. :P
I’ll send you some. I have some new …in a box…in the basement….that will be another tea I send you, along with brewing instructions. Now I’m storing tea in the basement.
Amy, do u want me to send you some?
My first Dan Cong came from Tea Spring. Totally deicious…they have some really great teas and reasonable shipping.
http://www.teaspring.com/Feng-Huang-Dan-Cong.asp
The DC I have now is from Upton Tea, but it’s sold out now.
You are so lucky …ITC is right in SF…….LUCKY DOG!
There are a lot of nice places in San Francisco For Chinese tea…
Amy,Thank you for sending me some of this one, i liked it :)
Mysterious. Very
By green pu’er cake does it mean sheng / raw / uncooked?
Yes – it seems like the brown ones are all shu but I could be wrong
Ok, that makes sense. Brown is usually shu, but all shengs will eventually turn brown over a few decades or so. Shu was originally “invented” in order to mimic what happens to traditionally aged shengs, without having to wait so long. As a result, many folks find shu pu’er easier to drink, especially since sheng (like this one, it seems) are often fill of astringency for the first four to ten years.
Glad to see you getting into all this! It’s a slippery slope, my friend. I mean, just look at what’s happening to Mr. Geoffrey and Dan Congs! Hope you can fid some bricks to put away. It’s fun to just try them and check up once or twice a year to see how they’re changing.
For reference, the Artisan Revival you tried a little while ago is also a sheng / green pu’er- it’s just not so green anymore. The Xingyangs, on the other hand, were shu.
Thanks for the info – yeah it does seem like kind of a slippery slope…. expensive tea! lol
Well said Spoon….
When you have a tea vault to store tea, you know you’re addicted! I didn’t say it was a problem now did I? :))
I love Dan Congs….now there’s a tea…well I probably wouldn’t sell an organ…but one really never knows for sure! :))
I don’t know if I’ve ever had a Dan Cong, I see Seven Cups has some at 25% off for their end of year sale. Might need to get one. :P
I’ll send you some. I have some new …in a box…in the basement….that will be another tea I send you, along with brewing instructions. Now I’m storing tea in the basement.
Amy, do u want me to send you some?
My first Dan Cong came from Tea Spring. Totally deicious…they have some really great teas and reasonable shipping.
http://www.teaspring.com/Feng-Huang-Dan-Cong.asp
The DC I have now is from Upton Tea, but it’s sold out now.
You are so lucky …ITC is right in SF…….LUCKY DOG!
There are a lot of nice places in San Francisco For Chinese tea…
Amy,Thank you for sending me some of this one, i liked it :)