Eric Honaker Send Message

Taste on this tea (or my taste buds) continues to evolve.

In addition to the flavors I already expected, getting a bit of a citrus note this morning.

I got this as part of the Bana Tea puerh variety pack.

This puerh started off like a typical shou – a bit musty, but 2 rinses took care of that. The resulting tea was rich, earthy and smooth. There was a hint of ginseng taste. Later infusions became quite mild and sweet. Like the description states, it causes a refreshing cooling feeling in the mouth after a sip.

While good, it also didn’t really stand out to me. It was what I’m coming to see as a “typical” quality shou.

An excellent example of the form, Earl Grey White Tip is by far my favorite EG.

Yesterday I tried it gongfu cha style. The resulting brew had a strong bergamot flavor, more forward than the western style brew. I started at 30 seconds and increased it a bit each time, until about 2 minutes for the final, 5th infusion.

Really enjoying this tea. Just got it yesterday.

My first session with it, what I notice about it first is its robustness. It has a roasted character that combines with strong savory notes to evoke a hearty broth.

As it steeps out, the sweetness comes out, as do the cocoa and malt characteristics.

Mild astringency, just enough to wake up the tongue and leave it feeling a bit tingly on the aftertaste.

I don’t know if this is going to be my new go-to black tea, but it’s really darned good.

Not really sure if I like this tea or not.

I didn’t expect a lot, and I’m glad it wasn’t terribly expensive.

I now understand the description of certain puerh as “fishy.” This one wasn’t unpleasant, but there was definitely something about the scent and the flavor of the first couple of infusions that said “lake water.”

Once that calmed down the flavor was mildly sweet, not bitter or astringent, but without much character. It wasn’t unpleasant, but I don’t think I’ll be reaching for this one very often.

This is on the way from YS, so I finished off my sample yesterday.

I feel like my palate has become more refined since I first tried it. The flavor struck me as more complex this time around, but still delicious and sweet with pronounced cocoa notes.

I detected a hint of smokiness this time, and still that unidentifiable (to me) fruity note.

I wish this came in a size between 50g and 1kg. I certainly don’t need a kilo, but I imagine 50g won’t last me that long.

This session was a bit different. More astringent, with a smoky note I didn’t notice before. It is possible that my tastebuds were on the fritz, however – I am a bit under the weather.

Received a sample of this from Bana Tea, drank it last night.

I’m not sure what to say about this tea. It was pleasant. The mouth feel was silky. There was no astringency or bitterness in my session. I steeped it about 10 times and could probably have gone longer.

The taste, on the other hand, was unremarkable. Very drinkable, and it tasted good, but I’m at a loss how to describe it besides “it tasted like a shou puerh.” Earthy, a bit rich, maybe some mushroom. Nothing stood out, though. No nuttiness, cocoa notes, not fruit, etc. Not particularly sweet.

However, for the price ($29/100g) it would make a pleasant, no nonsense daily drinker.

Pleasant, with mouth awakening minerality and slightly roasted flavor