Wild Purple Buds Puerh

Breaking this one out tonight. Seems to be a “Unique” type of tea when I opened the bay. Primarily 2 to 3 buds on each sprig and varying colors in depths of the purple shade.
Pulled out 8 grams and the Gaiwan for this one. Gave 5 second rinse and let the leaf sit for a couple of minutes.
Wet leaf has a vegetal aroma with just a little wisp of smoke in the nose. Did a brew with a 5 second steep to start things out. Color is almost a light honey color in the cup. The cup funnels the aroma to you as you sip. A touch of leather and a hint of bitter. Unlike some purple buds this has no where near the bitterness of most. It turns to a sweet flavor with a touch of greens on the end. it will give you a touch of the tongue buzz that good shengs will.
Second steeping using same parameters as first. Flavor opens up a little stronger with more of the green and less of the smoke. It still brings the nice tingle and sweetness as in the first, just a bit more pronounced.
I believe this will be one I can drink on for a couple of days as the first set of infusions haven’t opened the buds up all the way. That just means more goodness still inside.
This is on par with the better Purple Bud teas I have had and way better than any big factory one I have had.
Nice relaxing great tasting tea.

The look of these buds is like no other tea I’ve seen. They’re a potpourri looking mix of deep reddish-purple, gold and greenish buds. There was little scent until I got them into a warm gaiwan. The buds smell very heavily of green bean and pea, lots of wood notes as well. The flavor is like a smoked wood, more woody than smokey, with some subtle notes of green bean. There’s a “dirtiness” to the taste that is a lot like a ripe Shu Puerh. It has some of those leathery, peat-like qualities.

This tea seems like a cousin of Ya Bao. It has similar woody qualities, just a lot more woody and beany and not having the fruity sweetness of Ya Bao. About four steepings in, I’m getting really similar flavors and coming to the conclusion that there isn’t particularly anything popping out that I am going to enjoy in this tea.

My interest in this tea came primarily from the fact that I just learned about purple teas and wanted to try some. I requested this as a sample with an order of Purple Sunset Oolong, which is made from the Kenyan purple cultivar. This Puerh is from Yunnan.

Please take other reviews into account when considering my rating. This is based on personal tastes and not on the quality of the tea.

Backlog from last night.

The latest installment in TeaKlutz’s pu-erh adventures.

Gonna be honest, I groaned when I read this one was a sheng. I’ve tried two other shengs and I haven’t been a fan. However, I’ve also discovered that the way I’ve been preparing them isn’t optimal: I’ve been doing Western style steepings of between 3 and 5 minutes, and they’ve turned out bitter as all hell. Per the instructions on the little sample baggy, I referred to Butiki’s website for steeping instructions. Nothing about a teapot, only short steepings in the gaiwan. But I’m trying to write program notes tonight and I’m already behind schedule and I don’t really have time to – sigh. Fine. Fine.

Water heated to roughly 200-205? degrees, by my estimate.

Steep 1: Somewhere between 5 and 10 seconds, when you count me fumbling around to pour the gaiwan water out. There’s the recognizable sheng brightness, but it’s not obnoxious at all. Rather, it’s a complement to the pleasantly woody, fresh-twig-like flavor that is rounded, subdued, and actually rather enjoyable.

Steep 2: 15 s. Sadly the water has cooled quite a bit, as I’ve been working a while and didn’t cover the pot to keep the heat in. This go-round, I’m getting a bit more earth… or… mist… it’s a somewhat intangible flavor. Just the tiniest bit of mineral in this one, but once again, not enough to be intrusive. (Also, program notes are coming along fairly well so far. I’m enjoying writing these more than normal.)

Steep 3: 20 s. This go-round is starting to taste a bit more like what I know as the “sheng” flavor: bright, planty-mineraly, not quite astringent but you can tell it’s on its way there. Hmm. I would have thought the flavor progression for the multiple steeps would have gone the other way, rounding out with more steeps. Hmm.

I’m done with steepings for the night, but the leaves in the cup smell really cool! There’s a heavy smoky aroma that I didn’t get in the tastings, and the trademark “sheng” note is kind of like a shining overtone. I can’t stop sniffing the leaves, trying to figure out what’s going on in the aroma!

Well, now I’m glad I took a few extra moments to create this experience. I really was not optimistic about my future with shengs, but this has completely changed my opinion of them. (See what happens when you do things the right way?) I’m eager to go back and try the ones I previously wrote off to see if my opinion of them changes as well. All in all, this is a very good tea and one I enjoyed drinking. Don’t know if it’ll be at the top of my next shopping list, but I would happily drink it again.

Thank you VERY much to Stacy of Butiki Teas for the sample!