Black Beauty 2009 Meng Hai Imperial Ripe Pu'erh

Cupped some of this ripe pu’erh early yesterday evening; very smooth & medium bodied w/ very clean notes of mahogany wood, petrichor, and just a hint of dark, black cocktail cherries. I actually resteeped the cup leaf twice as well, and both resteeps were quite nice. There was no way I would have gotten a fourth infusion though.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAK56nvAVCV/

I was also tagged by a friend on insta to share #sevendaysofteapets so this was day one of that!! This tractor teapet was an extra little gift from a potter last year in a teaware order. While I’m sure it was a random inclusion, I actually love it because it reminds me of home, back in the prairies!!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeU1sn8KUgU

It would seem like I drank a different tea from the other reviewer on this one. Once I got past the wet storage flavors I found it quite nice. Not dirty or cloudy but clear and crisp. There was a fair amount of fermentation to it with an earthy note but I did not notice anything particularly unpleasant at all. In fact the wet storage notes covered up the fermentation taste to some degree. By the fifth or sixth steep all the wet storage taste and fermentation taste were gone and what I was left with was fairly nice. A bit of a light fruity note with an aftertaste of the wet storage taste or wet wood. Yes I guess in reality there was a little bit left of this throughout all twelve steeps but is was only a major factor for five or six steeps.

I steeped this tea twelve times in a 110ml teapot with 8.3g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 minutes. There were a few more steeps left to this tea but I didn’t want any more caffeine.

I have a been a bit spoiled with my Shu puerh consumption, so I am difficult to please. I wish to state this at the beginning, so if you’re a different Shu drinker than I, please disregard my harsh words. As I stated, I am very picky with my Shu consumption, for I have heard too many horror stories of the disgusting lake bile out there categorized as the “ripe”. This is a gong ting loose, so I didn’t go in with absurdly high expectations. The description reads “smooth, clean, and does not require a rinse”. I will disagree firmly with all three counts. First, I do not know of many Shu puerhs (or puerhs in general) that should ignore a rinse. Second, this was a very harsh drink. Third, a prominent cloudy factor and dirty notes were constantly encountered. Now, into some more details:

The dry leaf is small and tippy with a slight aroma of fresh soil, minerals, and minor cocoa. I warmed my yixing and scooped the bits inside. I washed the leaves and began my brewing as usual; however, I used flash steeping, for this leaf did not need the extra time to open up, for it was loose leaf. The initial flavor was brandishing and drying on the tongue. I would put it as bittersweet heavy dark cocoa. The brew was coarse and chalky. I thought maybe it was my water, so I changed and cleaned the kettle quickly, and I reboiled a fresh pot. Turns out, it was not my water. The brew continued in a simple statement of dirty tasting. The drink was very harsh to get down, but it wasn’t a pleasant harsh such as: leather, mineral, or dark wood; rather, it was just plain dirty tasting. I kept brewing, for maybe it was going to improve. I experienced a slightly decent period around the fourth steeping when the harsh features tuned down and it was of the earthy Menghai profile Shu; however, the next steep brought this back into the Sahara dryness category. I then gave up soon after. This might be Shu for someone that likes the extreme Shu, but I am not in that group of drinkers. I have had some bitter Menghais before, but this one takes the bing (cake, get it lol).

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRbg57CAZek/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en