Misty Peak Teas

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Recent Tasting Notes

9g ball of tea. 2 Short rinses, water just under boiling. The aroma of this tea is amazing. First steep five seconds, second ten. Smoky and sweet flavor. Lovely golden color. I don’t think I’d want to steep any longer than that actually, a tiny hint of bitterness is there now. Will go back to five for third steep. Mineral. Wet. Mossy (don’t ask me what that means). The tea has really opened up now, and is filling my gaiwan. I’m was still getting a little bit of bitterness even with the short steeps, but it did calm down and mellow out in later steeps. I tried to upload a photo of how gigantic the leaf is, but the site won’t let me. If anyone happens to be reading this (why are you reading this? I havve no idea what I’m talking about!) and wants to see it, click here: http://i.imgur.com/zPknuZd.jpg

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100

I kid you not when I tell you that I have never before had such an amazing experience with Pu’er tea. I first would like to explain that Misty Peak Teas are 100% organic, no pesticides, sprays, or anything used in any way shape or form, just traditional farming styles. They are also certified fair trade and work with the family who makes the tea. All of this makes me smile as I sip my incredibly delicious cup of Pu’er knowing that not only is the tea amazing, but is also good for my health since it is organic ( Pu’er also has numerous health benefits listed on Misty Peak Teas website) and conscious knowing that the family who made the tea are treated fairly. Now on to the tea!

The taste of the tea is unlike anything that I have ever had before. Imagine the great stone fruit like qualities of a great cup of Yunnan Black teas, mixed with an Oolong like mineral water quality, combined into one and with its own unique twist with not a touch of any bitterness or astringency that you would get with an Oolong or Black tea. The smell of the dried and brewing leaves have an exact smell of dried plums/cherries and smelling the tea instantly makes my mouth water. You can literally tell that the tea is of high quality just by looking at it, long whole leaves of even length and color.

While sipping the tea I held it in my mouth and with every sip I noticed a new complex flavor that would light up my eyes. The most prominent flavors are stone fruits, dried plums, and dried cherries. They hit you instantly with a calming warm sweetness that is very comforting. The mouthfeel is incredibly smooth and leaves me wanting another sip. On later sips I noticed a mineral like flavor note that was extremely refreshing. I could not help but brew myself more. I drifted into teaphoria! The tea left me in a peaceful lucid mindset feeling ready to write music, write reviews, and simply just think about life and all the wonderful things it has to offer.

I am going to be very sad when my Pu’er from Misty Peak Teas runs out so I will be sure to keep this tea in my collection once it does! I can’t wait to share it with other tea lovers in my area. If you haven’t tried Misty Peak Teas Pu’er then you need to as it is a wonderful spiritual experience that will not be forgotten!

Flavors: Dried Fruit, Fruity, Mineral, Peach, Plum, Smooth, Stonefruit, Sweet

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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90

a decent tea:

when i smell the leaves dry, they smell musty.

when i smell the leaves wet, they smell like veggies and fruits.

when i smell the brewed tea, i smell honey.

when i taste the brewed tea, i taste honey and slight spices and a little bitter sweet taste (in a good way).

the color of the brewed tea is a light amber color.

i rate this a 90 because its good but ive had better :)

many thanks to misty peak teas for this free sample

Flavors: Bitter, Fruity, Musty, Sweet, Vegetables, Vegetal

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec 5 g 8 OZ / 250 ML

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90

this tea is a nice tea :)

when i smell the leaves dry, they smell fruity instead of musty.

when i smell the leaves wet they smell like honey and a tad bit of floral.

when i smell the brewed tea, it smells like honey.

when i taste the brewed tea, it tastes like honey and a tad bit of spice.

i rate this tea a 90 because i think it is not as good as some others i have tried.

many thanks to Amanda ‘SoggyEnderman’ Wilson for this nice tea :)

Flavors: Floral, Fruity, Honey, Spices

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 0 min, 30 sec 5 g 8 OZ / 250 ML

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Backlog from last night.

GCTTB4

Many thanks to Ubacat for adding this to the box! I had about half the sample last night in my gaiwan. I got about 10 steeps before I called it a night.

I used 80-85C water, rinsed it for 2-5 seconds, then did steeps of 10s/10s/15s/15s/20s/20s/25s/30s/35s/40s.

All throughout, the tea was a lovely clear yellow. The taste remained quite consistent from steep to steep – a bit haylike, a bit fruity, a bit mineral. However, I did notice the mineral note become more prominent on the last 2 or 3 steeps.

By the time I was done, the leaves had greatly expanded in the cup, but they hadn’t completely unfurled – they were still quite twisted up.

Unfortunately, I noticed that as I drank this tea, I developed a stomachache. For the last year and a half I’ve had unusual stomachaches that I can’t pinpoint the cause of; I thought it was one of those. However, boychik wrote recently in a note for a different sheng that really young sheng gives him stomachaches, so I think the tea is a possible culprit. His sheng was from spring 2015 — quite a bit newer than this maocha. But still, I think it’s possible.

Despite this, I’m glad I got to try a new vendor. Thanks for adding it to the box, Ubacat!

looseTman

Christina, Did you drink this tea on an empty stomach?

Christina / BooksandTea

I had it about 2 hours after dinner. Dinner itself was a filet of fish, some salad, and some roasted veggies.

boychik

Well, I have to say I’m better now. Maybe because instead of avoiding it I drink it more often. Kinda training myself. Another tip is to limit steeps. Like 5 a day. And continue the next day. I do snack before and after. This tea didn’t give any problems. It’s not as green.

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95

I am about to run out of this tea. This bums me out, because it has continued delicious since I purchased it in 2015.

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95

5/6/2015 alldaytea 5g/just boiled water/100ml gaiwan.

I’ve been drinking this lovely bright sheng all day. It reminds me of bitter orange flowers.

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95

I’ve been drooling over this companies products for awhile, and I have finally received one! This was a strange but wonderful brew! The cake is a forest of colors. It is spotted with deep green, mudded yellow, and golden brown. The cake broke apart smoothly without harming the integrity of the leaves (good sign). It carried a light forest scent and granite. I brewed this in my yixing. I washed the leaves once and gave it a whiff. My tea was filled with a sweet tone. This tone carried a heavy earth flavor and slight citrus undertone. The liquor was a deep yellow and thick. The taste was incredibly surprising. I did not encounter even the slightest of bitterness in any of the steepings. It was completely smooth and sweet. I actually added more leaves to increase the potency. The flavor was a smooth apricot and mineral. Once I reached about the sixth steeping it released an amazing syrup. My mouth became engulfed with a honey and oak flavor. This brew lasted well into the double digits and is incredibly silky. If you don’t enjoy a bitter Sheng then this is the brew for you. I am very grateful to have enjoyed this cake!

https://instagram.com/p/11J9M-TGXC/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

Flavors: Honey, Mineral, Nectar, Oak, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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Last one from the Sheng and Shou TTB. This is the loose leaf version, but I didn’t want to create a new “tea” for this note.

Brewed gongfu-style with a ceramic gaiwan. Used enough leaf to fill half the gaiwan. 10 second rinse. Steeping times: 5, 8, 12, 15, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120.

Despite being an autumn sheng, spring is in the dry leaf, which smells of flowers, notably hyacinths, and a newly mowed lawn. The wet leaf aroma reminds me of leafhopper oolongs. Purely stonefruit after the rinse, and then i becomes richly jam-like.

The liquor is a clear pale gold. Slightly thick texture. Light-bodied. Bright personality. Uplifting yet calming feel. The first couple infusions resemble white tea. Airy feel, tastes of field grass. Beginning with the third infusion, this becomes more sheng-like – sweet grass and asparagus notes appear. Infusions eight and nine are fruitier, very fruity. Plum lingers in the mouth long after the very last sip.

The dry leaf is something to admire. I think this is my first sheng in which the leaves are so long, unbroken and full. They’re also lovely in color and texture.

Preparation
5 g 3 OZ / 88 ML
Dr Jim

I was just thinking that I was hoping to see more reviews coming from the TTB, then when I went to my dashboard I saw this. Cheered me up!

MzPriss

@Dr Jim – I am about to start digging into the ones I took from it and will be posting in the next week

KiwiDelight

Woohoo! Too bad it’s my last one :P

Dr Jim

You should have taken more!

Dr Jim

I shouldn’t throw any stones. I have a lot of trouble writing reviews of pu-erh. Seems like everything tastes of wood or tobacco. I read these reviews of various fruits, but I have real trouble seeing it. I think my palate isn’t refined enough.

mrmopar

You should write Dr Jim. Took me long time but I found practice/drinking it brought me along.

KiwiDelight

I didn’t have enough in my stash to replace what I took, but I’ll have more the next round for sure!

The first time I drank sheng – from Verdant, two years ago – it tasted like bitter dry grass. I was totally turned off. I’ve been reading people’s notes over the past few months and the fruit notes they tasted made me too curious to pass on trying more sheng. The amount I’ve been drinking of late escalated because of the box. I guess my palate evolves rapidly. I’m still getting grass or hay or tobacco (blurgggh) but I’m getting there. I liked shou right away, and I’m slowly coming to like sheng. And I like the qi that comes drinking it. It’s like a clearer “tea tipsy” compared to what shou causes.

Cheri

I’ve done one of the teas I took, and I plan to do more this week. I didn’t want to spend too much more time with the box since it sat there unopened for so long while I was sick. I just jumped in, picked a handful out and sent it on its way.

Dr Jim

That’s pretty much what everyone did. I figured with pu-erh, people use so much for a pot that it made sense to just take one sample. For the next circuit I intend to ask people how that worked out and whether it makes more sense to let people take all they want. The up-side is that the box is just flying around the country. We’ve had 8 people have the box in only 40 days, which has to be some kind of TTB record.

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80

I ordered a 100g cake of this to go with the 2013 Spring and 2014 Autumn I already own. I also am not quite believing this is really Spring pick from Jan or Feb.

The cake is rather brown and loosely compressed and looks exactly like my Autumn cake. This isn’t spring pick, it might contain some spring tea from previous years, and then pressed from loose into a cake in 2015. But it isn’t fresh spring tea. I have my 2013 Spring to compare also which I can tell was pressed fresh, it is tighter and clearly had a lot more moisture. So it is maybe spring maocha PRESSED in 2015. So I explored tea selling and relative truth in my blog post using this tea and another tea. Http://deathbytea.blogspot.com

Having said that, I like mild teas with floral Yiwu profiles, they are kinder on the stomach. The strength of this one doesn’t approach the intensity of something like Last Thoughts at white2tea, but is similar to Chawangshop’s Ban Payasi. The Ban Payasi is from the Laos side of the border, but has the same trees as the Yiwu side of the border, and the price point is lower than for a Yunnan tree. Anyway, milder Yiwu profile teas are one of the few young sheng teas I like to drink. The leaves on my new cake show browning so I know it is a blend with older tea.

I didn’t feel guilty breaking up this new Misty Peaks cake and adding it into a crock canister with the other Misty Peaks teas I have. The level of aging is about the same for them all. And hopefully they are indeed single-origin! I’ve been looking for a nice crock for my Misty Peaks tea for some time and finally found a nice one which looks lovely on the shelf.

Flavors: Floral

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 3 OZ / 100 ML
Jiāng Luo

Get some samples of YS purple yiwu tea it is probably half the price maybe less especially if you get autumn which would be even lighter on the stomach. I can send you a sample of the cake I have if you would like

Jiāng Luo

btw eye spy the W2T puer pick if your blog post ;)

Cwyn

Actually my pick is from Yunnan Sourcing, the $2 pick is the same everywhere. I do have a purple Yiwu from YS as well^^ haven’t tried it though.

Tealizzy

Thanks for the informative review! I’m still learning, and your comments in Instagram and here are helpful!

Jiāng Luo

oh whoops yeah it seemed like it was generic still like the thought espically since he branded the ones he sent out with a pair of yiwu this month, both being way out of my price range so I almost dont want to try them for fear I will like them

Jiāng Luo

try the ys purple yiwu mine is super fruity berriesque not super complexity almost like the kool aid but a nice transition tea

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70

For a key to my rating scale, check out my bio.

A great everyday pu’er, has mellowed out nicely since I purchased it (was too bitter to drink back in spring 2015). The on palate flavor is okay, not incredibly smooth but not too tannic either. The 回甘 (sweet finish) is something else though – it just continues to develop and lasts a good hour! Apricot jam, dragonfruit, oranges, vanilla. Yum!

Flavors: Apricot, Cream, Floral, Fruity, Green Apple, Hibiscus, Honey, Jam, Jasmine, Mineral, Orange, Peach, Pleasantly Sour, Plum, Raisins, Smoke, Soap, Tannic, Vanilla

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 4 OZ / 125 ML

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76

For a key to my rating scale, check out my bio.

Flavors: Cream, Dark Chocolate, Earth, Jasmine, Peach, Pine, Smoke, Sugarcane

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 g 6 OZ / 177 ML

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91

I decided to add this to the catalog rather than review it under the 2014 Autumn link. This was a very enjoyable tea. There was bitterness in the early steeps as well as a slight sour note that took a while to go away. This is a fairly punchy, in your face kind of tea but it mellows out after a while. It is strong tea. Stronger than the Misty Peak autumn tea for sure. I will see how this ages. There were some sweet notes in there too, not sure how to best describe them. The usual is to describe them as apricots or stonefruits. These may fit, not entirely sure.

I brewed this tea 10 times in a 150ml gaiwan with 6g leaf and 200 degree water. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min. If anyone wants to buy this tea it is still available in the 100g bing, the 200g bing is sold out. Get it now if you want it.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec 6 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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I’ve tried this tea twice now after it came in. I was really hoping to love this as I was crazy about the 2013 mao cha from Misty Peak and its lovely fruity flavor.

To me this seems more like a standard type of sheng. It has a light color with light smoke notes, a bit of floral, lemon and a bittersweet finish. I threw the first steep out and have been doing short infusions of it. It starts to mellow out a bit after steep #3, but I am just not getting plum or peach flavor from this at all, even after 7 steeps.

So I am a bit torn on how to give this a rating for now. It is definitely a nice, young sheng but I was hoping for something a little different, or a little more like the product description, anyway. It isn’t terribly aggressive but I also think it could benefit from a few years of aging.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 15 sec
Tealizzy

I kinda feel the same way. I’ve had it a couple of times and it was nice, but it didn’t have as much flavor as I was expecting. I haven’t reviewed it yet because I was trying to decide what I thought about it.

TeaBrat

@Tealizzy – yeah it was pricey too in my opinion for something I don’t really love. Of course I know people pay a lot more money for shengs but generally I am not one of those people. ;)

Tea for Me Please - Nicole Wilson

I find that I like longer brews with this one. I’ll do a really short rinse and then steep it in a gaiwan for about 30 seconds.

TeaBrat

Thanks Nicole, I’ll try it. I was a bit worried about steeping it for that long because of the bitterness factor.

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80

Thanks to Nicholas for the generous free sample of loose leaf puer! :) I’ve been sipping this tea off and on for over 24 hours now. I’ve lost count of the number of steepings, but if I had to guess… probably 5 or 6 yesterday, probably another 5 or 6 so far today, and the leaves are still hanging in there! Impressive.

So I think I put about 4g in my gaiwan, which holds about 100-120ml. Aiming for 90 degree water, but mostly kinda winging it since I don’t have a variable temp kettle. Rinsed once, started out with 20sec steeps for a while, then started adding 10sec increments (roughly – mostly by counting in my head, not with a timer or anything).

I would say that most of the front-end sweetness and fruitiness was in the first few steepings. After that it settled into a fairly consistent flavour that I mostly just want to describe as “crisp and refreshing”. There’s a mellow astringency and a pleasant kind of tangy bitterness, with a light fruity note lingering. The back of my throat feels like it’s coated in syrup, and there’s a slight tingling in my mouth. I have very minimal experience with puerh (especially sheng puerh) so I can’t exactly provide an educated opinion, but I can say that I’m really enjoying this. :) And it’s nice to know the tea’s origins and feel reasonably confident that it’s pesticide-free.

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90
drank 2013 Sheng Pu'er by Misty Peak Teas
1758 tasting notes

Not entirely sure if I’m reviewing this in the right place but here goes. I do have the 2013 Loose Tea. I thought I had bought the 2014 but the package says 2013. This is an incredible tea, very tasty. Its got some bitterness in the early steeps and notes of what I would describe as apricots and stonefruits. There is no smoky flavor or camphor to this tea at all. I brewed this twelve times today. IT could probably have gone twenty steeps but I had had enough tea at twelve. That is a lot of tea.

I brewed this twelve times in a 150ml gaiwan with 7.2g leaf and 200 degree water. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min and 1.5 min.

Flavors: Apricot, Stonefruit

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec 7 g 5 OZ / 150 ML
tea123

Incredible – that says a lot.

Ubacat

I love this tea too.

AllanK

This is among my favorite raw tea.

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95
drank 2013 Sheng Pu'er by Misty Peak Teas
2816 tasting notes

This is a beautiful looking mao cha tea, I posted a picture on my IG of the leaves:
https://instagram.com/teabrat/p/0GRpfkoLf1/

I’ve had a couple of Misty Peak samples now and have found they are much more mellow and less bitter than most shengs out there. Especially for a young sheng, this is surprisingly downbeat. It is downright fruity, with notes of orange and apricot. A slight woodsyness, and palette cleansing slight bitterness that lingers in your mouth.

If you like strong, smoky tobacco and bittersweet shengs, this is not for you. It is more like the darjeeling of sheng teas; very elegant and fruity. I have to say I am thoroughly enchanted by this mao cha. Definitely a good one for relaxation and winding down as it doesn’t have a potent energy kick. It’s hard to believe this is a pu’er!

p.s. this is not available on the site anymore but the 2014 version is there

Flavors: Apricot, Peach, Wood

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 30 sec
Haveteawilltravel

Beautiful leaves :D

TeaBrat

definitely

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From the Sheng and Shou TTB.

Brewed gongfu-style in a ceramic gaiwan. Two 5-second rinses (because the first cup, 5 seconds, was too weak). Steeping times: 10, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90, 120.

I carefully unwrapped the paper (it’s taped in my tea journal for keeps) as if it were a special present. This was the first time I had a sheng ball, so I had to admire it – the tightness in which the leaves were pressed, the summer plant-like colors of the leaves, the lightness, or weightlessness, of the ball – before placing it in the bowl. It didn’t take long to unfurl. After the two rinses and the first steep, the leaves were already free.

This was the sweetest smelling sheng whose aroma I’ve had the pleasure to savor. Apricot jam fills the gaiwan after each steep, stronger than the real thing. Given a few seconds, a midsumer meadow arises, then green peppers.

The liquor is golden yellow, thick, smooth and, at first, cloudy with leaf bits. It has a full-body yet is mild in flavor. The first infusion tastes of sweet hay. It’s also a little sour, but this disappears shortly. The second infusion is even sweeter, a kind of fruity sweetness, with a mineral note. I liked this cup the best. The rest of the infusions are tingly on the tongue. They consistently offer sweet hay, and the texture becomes a little thicker.

Silly me – I checked the website’s instructions after I began the session. Which is why the temperature reads 200 and not 185. Which is probably why the flavor weakens at the seventh infusion. I have a hard time making teas last more than ten infusions while being brewed in a gaiwan. This is one tea I would have liked to have more a longer relationship with. Take me back to that summer meadow!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 7 g 3 OZ / 88 ML

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100

Well, hiya Steepster.

It’s been awhile. Like, almost a year. Time flies when drenched in caffeine. I finally thought about updating this here port when I noticed a favorite of mine was the TOP pu-erh on this site. Naturally, being a bit of a whore, I thought I’d weigh in as well.

I’ve liked pu-erh, I’ve loved pu-erh, but I’ve rarely deemed a pu-erh to be perfect. That all changed when I came in contact with the autumn 2014 pluck of this stuff. I’ve had several different years from this farm, but late-2014 – I dunno – something special was in the water, soil, processing, what-have-you. It was fruity, sweet, luscious, nuanced, medium-bodied, and brimming with tasting notes yearning to be sonnets.

Nan Nuo used to be my favorite pu-erh mountain. Yiwu is, now. That’s kind of a big deal.

More recenty, I had the opportunity to do a private tasting with the Misty Peaks seller. If you want, you can read about it here: http://steepstories.com/a-young-yiwu-pu-erh-afternoon/ (As well as marvel at the sight of a huge pu-erh ball.

Flavors: Earth, Floral, Fruity, White Wine

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
looseTman

Geoffrey, Welcome back! I enjoyed your steepstory & the pictures!

Geoffrey Norman

@looseTman – Thank ya, sir. I’ll try to be less infrequent.

gmathis

Good to see you!

Chad

Geoff, you and I have seemed to share simular tastes, and so I will have to take your advice, and order this one. I’ve been getting back into pu-erh again, after a long hiatus, and this sounds like one to try.

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40

This is a really lovely young sheng. No bitterness with a beautifully full fruity body and lingering sweetness. Others taste apricot which I can see, but I found it most like an over-ripe cherry. Definitely spectacular for a young sheng, but the most striking part about this tea is the savory aspect to it. It’s very unique but melds well with the fruitiness.

I only gave it one rinse, and I’m glad I didn’t do more because it had beautiful flavor right from the get-go. It also brews up to a really beautiful color. A gorgeous sunset orange/pink. Definitely going on my to-buy list.

Flavors: Apricot, Overripe Cherries, Sugarcane, Umami

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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So I have mentioned it some on Instagram, but realize I have not elaborated here on the blog, or anywhere else for that matter, I have come to a very important and hard decision. I am going off my medicine, no more Gabapentin for me. Yeah, it worked for my Fibromyalgia for a while, but there was the unhappy trend of them not working and the dosage being upped, and the side effects getting awful…til yep, they caused me to have seizures. Turns out I got too much of the stuff and had a nasty reaction, took the doctors a while to figure that one out. I have just had so many nasty reactions to medications that I am done, I am going to try a different approach, especially now that I know I don’t have anything that is going to kill me if I am not super vigilant. Currently weening myself of the meds is a nightmare, my pain level is astronomical, but I have tea, painting, gaming, and a very comfy blanket…so all will be well.

It is time once again to return to Misty Peaks Tea with their 2015 Autumn Pu’er, I was enamored with the 2014 harvest and have half a cake happily stored away (I split a cake with my mom) so I was very happy to sample this years harvest. If I am going to drink a super fresh Puerh I really prefer the autumn harvest, from my (limited when compared to the real pu-heads out there) experience, they are a bit easier on the stomach, some fresh Sheng is practically caustic on the guts. As like last year, these leaves are monstrous, big fluffy beasties that barely fit in my Sheng pot, with nice mottled amber tones and silvery fuzz. The aroma of the leaves is pungent and sharp, with notes of wet hay and bamboo, apricot skin, spinach, sandalwood, and a touch of distant peppery spice. It is a good blend of pungent and sweet, with the woody undertones giving it a bit of a complexity.

Rinse and tea time, as is my usual way with Sheng, sometimes I drink the rinse, but rarely…and that is because in all honestly, my rinse bucket is a bit narsty. The aroma of the soggy leaves is pungent, with notes of wet hay and camphor, a bit of a wet wood barnyard (minus the wildlife) aroma that finished on a touch of spinach and a pinch of apricot skin. The liquid is sweet, notes of honey and apricot mix with camphor and sandalwood, it is a double punch of fruit and resin.

The first steeping is pretty light, a light mouthfeel and a light taste. Starting with mineral notes that move directly to sweet honey and hay with a touch of apricot. It finishes with sandalwood and a cooling camphor note that builds in the middle to a lingering cool finish.

On to the second steep, it takes the notes from the first steep and builds them, the resinous sandalwood notes blend with hay and a touch of apricot. The taste is cooling and sweet, wet hay and honey with apricot and a strong sandalwood note at the finish that lingers.

The third and fourth steep have a lot in common, sweet honey and apricot notes with resinous sandalwood and a strong cooling cedar note. These steeps bring the only bitter that showed up in my steeping, a dry slightly powdery mouthfeel with notes of cooling all the way down into my belly, it is not a super potent bitterness, a very drinkable level of bitter I think. A lingering sandalwood and apricot note hang around for a bit after sipping.

The fifth steep really shined in the aroma, probably the most aromatic of the steeps, strong notes of sandalwood and apricot, cedar, juniper, and even a hint of frankincense. I am noticing this year is very resinous and woody, reminding me of a winter forest, and of course it is quite sweet with never ending notes of apricot. As with last year, I found myself having many steeps and enjoying the crisp notes and clean tastes of this tea.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/11/misty-peaks-tea-2015-autumn-puer-tea.html

Ubacat

I hate when doctors just keep upping meds with no solution in site. I hope you find something in natural treatments that will help you out.

TeaNecromancer

It is immensely frustrating! I am going to try accupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and if I can swing it with my insurance I want to see a Dietitian

OMGsrsly

Oof. Best of luck!

Emilie

Good luck! Getting off meds can be tough, but it sounds like it will definitely be better for you

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One guess as to what I am doing right now! Yep, still painting, I got more or less none done yesterday since I spent the day with Ben, it was totally worth it so no regrets. Sadly I am not sure how much I will get done today since I have a splitting headache and staring at tiny lines on a 10mm miniature is not necessarily the best cure for it, but hopefully it will clear up. If not I shall lie in bed and play games on my phone, it would be on the Xbox 360 but Ben currently has it in pieces making it hard to play anything.

I am about to introduce you guys to possibly the biggest puerh leaves I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Yi Wu Shan Da Ye Sheng Bing Stone-Pressed (Yiwu Mountain Green Puer Cake) 2014 from Misty Peaks Tea had such epic long leaves that I was afraid they would not fit in my teapot, but fortunately they did perfectly, and I did not need to break a single one! This tea is described as a meditative tea, one to uplift or calm depending on your needs, well looks like this will be a tea I can spend the day with while painting. So, sniffing time, and let me say the aroma of these leaves is powerful, I was impressed, and let out a little maniacal giggle of excitement. One of the reasons I like drinking my tea solo, I tend to make a whole bunch of weird noises while drinking it! So, those powerful notes are a blend of sweet and savory, with notes of dried apples, hay, a bit of spinach, a tiny bit of distant floral (reminds me of fruit tree blossoms) a little bit of woodiness, and wonderful finish of camphor at the finish. I adore that camphor note, really, Sheng puerh with a strong camphor presence has become my go-to tea to drink when I have a cold, the aroma of it fills me with a sense of relief, even when I feel fine.

So after a short rinse and subsequent short steep it is time to stick my nose in my teapot and enjoy the leaves. Someone remind me that next time I review a rosy tea I need to make a ‘stop and smell the roses’ pun, I make too few tea related puns as it is. The aroma of the wet leaves is one of the cleanest smelling Sheng pu’s I have ever sniffed, not saying I have really smelled any that were dirty, but this one has a crispness to it. The same crispness that spring water and clean mountain air have, it has the crispness of home to it, which I find immensely soothing. There are notes of fresh hay and straw, cut grass, oak bark (specifically green wood rather than old dried up bark) fruit tree blossoms, a bit of dried fruit, and again a finish of olfactory cooling camphor. The liquid is a blend of honey, hay, flowers, and camphor. Really liking the flowery notes, I do not run into fruit tree flowers very often.

Well, I can safely say that this Sheng has all of the flavor notes I like in a Sheng, plus some extra bits that are awesome! It is not overly sweet and it is very smooth in both taste and mouthfeel. The tea starts out with a delicate smokiness and flowery notes, very much so a blend of apple blossoms and a touch of strawflower. This transitions to freshly cut grass and a distant note of fruit, and a finish of camphor giving a cooling effect.

The aroma of the second steep is lovely, notes of dried apples and apricots, a tiny bit of hay and grass, and a finish of honey and camphor. Let me start out by saying that wow this tea is smooth, like almost buttery in both texture and taste (unsalted of course) but leaning towards the honey sweet side, with a nice hint of apple blossoms. This moves to dried apples and fresh apricots with a slight hint of hay. For the finish there is a fairly mild cooling camphor note and a lingering honey sweetness.

Wee, time three! (If you were curious, it was around steep three when I finally finished giving all my Scourge a Drakenhoe Nightshade Shade, so tea while waiting for them to dry seems like a good idea) the aroma is so sweet, blending honey and dried apples with a hint of hay and camphor, I am amazed at how fruity this Sheng is in both aroma and taste. And speaking of taste, this steep is very similar to the previous steep, but with a bit more sweetness and apple notes, also the camphor at the end is more prominent.

So like yesterday I did my customary finish writing at steep three, but continued on with the tea up until steep eight. I am pretty sure the tea could have still gone further, but I was very tea drunk at this point and needed to call it quits, alas, I lack tea stamina, clearly I need to train more. I can say that steep four was my favorite by far, it perfectly balanced camphor and sweetness, later steeps still had both notes, but they were diminishing. Replacing them were notes of hay, grass, and green things along with a bit of smoke that cropped up ever so often very faintly. I do not say this often, but I have to get myself a cake of this tea, usually I just want samples of Puerh because that stuff is a commitment, you do not just buy Puerh, you become friends with it, and I want to become friends with this tea. I want us to go on shopping dates and have long conversations, it just made me feel so good after drinking it that I need it in my collection.

For blog and photos: Yi Wu Shan Da Ye Sheng Bing Stone-Pressed (Yiwu Mountain Green Puer Cake) 2014

Maddy Barone

I just love your tea notes!

TeaNecromancer

:D thank you!!!

Stephanie

I need this one!

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