2005 Ginseng Scent Ripe Pu-erh

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.

Coolest shou pu! The ginseng is to be understood as cooling, not the licorice ginseng tea taste.

This ripe pu’er starts rich, earthy, nutty and sweet. No funk, bitter or dryness so it is really easy to drink. With each steeping the cooling sensation takes over. It’s not camphor in flavor, so it’s not minty per say, but the sensation of the aftertaste leaves your mouth feeling cold.

Full review on Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/2005-denong-ginseng-scent-shou-puer-from-bana-tea-company-tea-review/

This is the best pu’erh I have ever tasted.
210f and 15s/20s steeps
Why is it the best? Well, I decided after paying such a high cost for the BANA teas that I purchased that I would be rude and give them unfair test such as leaving a steeping sit for 30 minutes so I could taste it when it reaches room temperature. This tea though… this tea… just, the steeps are dark and strong but I am finding something new that I’ve never had from a pu’erh: After each sip, my entire mouth has a sweetness to it as I lick around. The mouth feel is bold and warm, but the aftertaste just lingers with this sweetness that I absolutely love.
Highly recommended. It seems that 100g is $33 which is like $9 an ounce … such a great deal. I’ll be looking at buying one of these within a month so let me know if you’re interested in taking 20-30g off of me :)
p.s. I enjoyed this so much that I hit the 8th steep before an hour passed…
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