Needed a shu to get me going this morning! I haven’t been drinking much puerh since the winter/early spring. It’s something I typically reserve for cooler weather, when I need something to warm my bones…And it usually does the trick. (: Interesting to revisit an old favorite after so long. I used 2tsp of leaf to about 10oz of boiling water, rinsing for 15 seconds first. Steep times were 35sec, 40sec, and 1min 15. Every steep was creamy, nutty, and mushroom-earthy. Each flavor had varying intensities but for the most part each steep was very similar. Notes of baked bread gained strength with every infusion.
Overall I would say Bu Lang Gong Ting makes a bold cup with light sweetness, pastry/bread notes, some fruit/berry undertones, and a strong earthiness about it. Lowering the rating a tad because it’s not very complex—it’s comfortably consistent and reliable. Not very fussy either. Nonetheless, it’s still one of my favorite shu’s.
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Berry, Bread, Creamy, Mushrooms, Nutty, Pastries, Wet Earth
Comments
Great job with your notes! And you are right about complexity of this tea. It has wonderful characteristics by itself and brews up a wonderful western style brew. But for gong fu style brewing, I like to blend in some larger leaf material to keep it more interesting in later steeps.
The flavors you bring up in your notes are spot on for me, too.
As far as the ripe pu’er in cooler weather, that definitely rings true for many. In Chinese medicine all foods, drink, etc are seen as having a thermal nature – they can be cooling, neutral or warming. The lighter, less processed teas are seen as cooling, oolongs (for the most part) as neutral, and darker teas as warming. We really see it reflected in our sales as the lighter tea sales increase as weather warms and the inverse when weather cools. Seriously an inverse relationship.
I hope you are having a super spectacular day, my friend! Thanks for the notes!
I’ve never tried gong fu brewing with this one. Maybe I need to do that next. I tried a 5 minute steep this morning and it was delicious! Like a breakfast pastry, somehow the long steep brought out more hidden sweetness and a buttery flavor. Seriously good.
I have heard that before. Oolongs typically have a cooling effect on my body temperature—especially high mountain oolongs. In winter I would drink puerh before trekking across university campus for class. If I drank it right before leaving, I would hardly notice the wind chill on my face and hands. If I drank other kinds of tea—oolong, green tea—it wouldn’t have the same effect. I can always feel my body temp rise after drinking puerh. Other teas served at the same temperature won’t necessarily do that. I always thought it was fascinating…I didn’t read anything about it until months later.
I hope you’re having a lovely day as well! Thank you for the wonderful tea!
Great job with your notes! And you are right about complexity of this tea. It has wonderful characteristics by itself and brews up a wonderful western style brew. But for gong fu style brewing, I like to blend in some larger leaf material to keep it more interesting in later steeps.
The flavors you bring up in your notes are spot on for me, too.
As far as the ripe pu’er in cooler weather, that definitely rings true for many. In Chinese medicine all foods, drink, etc are seen as having a thermal nature – they can be cooling, neutral or warming. The lighter, less processed teas are seen as cooling, oolongs (for the most part) as neutral, and darker teas as warming. We really see it reflected in our sales as the lighter tea sales increase as weather warms and the inverse when weather cools. Seriously an inverse relationship.
I hope you are having a super spectacular day, my friend! Thanks for the notes!
I’ve never tried gong fu brewing with this one. Maybe I need to do that next. I tried a 5 minute steep this morning and it was delicious! Like a breakfast pastry, somehow the long steep brought out more hidden sweetness and a buttery flavor. Seriously good.
I have heard that before. Oolongs typically have a cooling effect on my body temperature—especially high mountain oolongs. In winter I would drink puerh before trekking across university campus for class. If I drank it right before leaving, I would hardly notice the wind chill on my face and hands. If I drank other kinds of tea—oolong, green tea—it wouldn’t have the same effect. I can always feel my body temp rise after drinking puerh. Other teas served at the same temperature won’t necessarily do that. I always thought it was fascinating…I didn’t read anything about it until months later.
I hope you’re having a lovely day as well! Thank you for the wonderful tea!