Brewing this in my yixing, which is thankfully seeing more use than it was a week ago. Unfortunately, I realized that the glue on one corner of my tea tray has been splitting, due to the hot water, and pu’erh has been seeping through the seams. Thank goodness for a tile countertop being underneath. Still…
These infusions were very loosely timed. The first one was supposed to be for twenty seconds, but I think it ended up at about thirty. The tea is not incredibly dark; despite a rinse of a couple of seconds, I think the leaves are still awakening. The tea does not smell too rich, but there are some cocoa notes with the earthiness. It tastes very smooth, if a little less intense than I would expect, but this was only the first steep. As I sip this steep, I already started and completed brewing the second steep. The cup finishes with some dark chocolate/cocoa notes.
Steep two is darker in appearance. The flavor has deepened a bit but not quite as far as I usually enjoy. I think I will run the third steep for forty-five seconds to a minute, rather than just adding ten to fifteen seconds. This one was steeped for thirty.
Third steep for a minute – dark and delicious. Still very smooth, not super earthy.
We shall see how long this can go.
People who liked this
Comments
My friend Dexter says this is Special Dark’s little brother…and I have to agree :-)
I would agree with that statement! It lacks a lot of the intense dark chocolate notes that the Special Dark holds.
Steep four and five, for 65 and 80 seconds, respectively, were less than ideal in terms of strength, so I topped off the yixing pot with water and am going to let it sit for the “long steep”
One of the important things to remember is that this tea is gong ting, the smallest grade leaf for a pu’er. The smaller the leaf, the more quickly it will give up flavor in early infusions.
Alot of times, pu’er is made into blends with other larger leaves so that smaller leaves give up more in early infusions while larger leaves give up more in later ones. That being said, even though a gong ting may be brewed several times, the flavor will most definitely get lighter with subsequent infusions.
We have alot of customers, though, who enjoy this tea steeped once at a longer time. Flash rinse followed by one long steep. Alternately, try maybe 1 quick one infusion (following the rinse) and then one long one. Pays to experiement and find out what makes it your cup of tea!
Thanks, Garret! I am going to try your recommendations, tomorrow. I appreciate the advice on the tea!
My friend Dexter says this is Special Dark’s little brother…and I have to agree :-)
I would agree with that statement! It lacks a lot of the intense dark chocolate notes that the Special Dark holds.
Steep four and five, for 65 and 80 seconds, respectively, were less than ideal in terms of strength, so I topped off the yixing pot with water and am going to let it sit for the “long steep”
One of the important things to remember is that this tea is gong ting, the smallest grade leaf for a pu’er. The smaller the leaf, the more quickly it will give up flavor in early infusions.
Alot of times, pu’er is made into blends with other larger leaves so that smaller leaves give up more in early infusions while larger leaves give up more in later ones. That being said, even though a gong ting may be brewed several times, the flavor will most definitely get lighter with subsequent infusions.
We have alot of customers, though, who enjoy this tea steeped once at a longer time. Flash rinse followed by one long steep. Alternately, try maybe 1 quick one infusion (following the rinse) and then one long one. Pays to experiement and find out what makes it your cup of tea!
Thanks, Garret! I am going to try your recommendations, tomorrow. I appreciate the advice on the tea!