2015 "That's No Moon" Shou / Ripe Puerh

Gongfu, 5g, 100C.
I’m finally getting around to writing notes on some samples I’ve got rather than just focusing on writing a grant. I just took a nap right before bed and decided to start some shou so….good decisions all around.
2 rinses, and time to taste:
Steeps 1-3, flash steeps <10s: sip is like warm soil in a nourishing way. There’s a rich bitterness to it, the texture and taste of which remind me of sipping a suspension of powdered cacao. The second steep reveals some cinnamon or nutmeg notes. The sense of dryness is definitely also reminding me of powdered spices and unsweetened chocolate. Third steep, I was wondering when (IF) this would ever become sweet. Its starting to taste and have a stickier thicker texture like chocolate syrup, but only very lightly sweetened.
Steep 4- 6, 20-30s. The liquor is already starting to get lighter, I can actually see through to the bottom of my cup. If I didn’t mention it before, early steeps of this were d a r k.
Steep 7- 9 , 1+min, The chocolate tastes have transitioned into a syrup or oily textured freshly rotting wood. There is a small bit of lasting chocolate fragrance, but not as much as I would have liked. The tea is definitely fading out by Steep 9, I think this might be the end of it.
In summary, soil→cacao→chocolate→woodiness. I would have expected that the wood would be towards the beginning. Overall, this is a fine tea but i didn’t think it was anything special. I’ll come back to this when I have a chance to leaf it harder. (I didn’t want to stay up TOO late tonight…). I also didnt find much body sensation or qi as I would like. A safe shou as there is no fish at all, but too simple for me.

There’s a chocolate bar I used to be able to find in one of the local shops, not-quite-dark (68%, maybe? pretty sure it was under 70) with mushrooms and chopped walnuts; That’s No Moon is like a darker version of that, in tea form. 14 infusions (over several hours; i took longish breaks whenever the kettle needed to be refilled), 205F, 12g, 175ml (ish – i’ve been using a pyrex measuring cup as a pitcher to try to get a sense of teapot volumes; some of my pours were closer to 150, and at least one hit 200). 7s, 10s, 10s, 12s [note: these first rounds were counted off as i fumbled the lid back onto the teapot and the kettle back onto the base; i am probably not an accurate time-keeping device], 20s, 25s, 45s, 90s, 2m, 3m, 5m, 10m, 15m, 15m

After two quick rinses the cup smelled dark, mushroomy-leathery with a hint of raisins; the hot leaves smelled like whole-wheat pasta water, with a hint of old books.

The first infusion was a deep dark red-brown; very smooth, subtly earthy with faint mushroomy/chocolatey overtones. The chocolate starts coming out more over the next few infusions; it never really goes away, there’s a lingering cocoa-nib aftertaste that went on for hours after the session. My notes for the fourth infusion: “like hot cocoa made from that mushroom-walnut chocolate”. :)

Things started getting a bit sweeter in the middle – the mushroom and walnut were still there, but the chocolate was dropping down through the 60s, getting sweeter, almost fruity; there’s a hint, almost an echo, of post-peppermint coolness (but without the minty flavor). Then the sweetness fades, leaving the dark cocoa-nib aftertaste.

The color was getting lighter – still a deep honey amber – but the liquid was still smooth and creamy; I started doing longer infusions to steer it away from the sweet fruity candy-chocolate and back into earthy-mushroomy territory, and now i was getting whole-wheat-pasta-water and raw almonds mixed in with the walnuts and mushrooms. There’s a hint of bitter-dryness at the end – like i’ve eaten too many walnuts – which quickly melts away, fading to that mushroomy-chocolate that lingered for the rest of the day.

That’s No Moon is deep, dark, smooth, creamy, chocolatey; it’s a cup of warming dark cocoa, curled up in a comfy chair in front of the fire with a cat and a stack of books while the world outside is covered in snow. Will definitely buy again.

This is a very nice shou with a lot of fermentation taste to it. It was however not of the extremely unpleasant type or the fishy type. There was very little bitterness and a sweet note gradually evolved until the twlfth steep had a distinct fruity character. Overall I am glad I bought this.

I steeped this twelve times in a 130ml teapot with 10.5g 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. Judging by the color of the tea in the twelfth steep I would say there were at least three steeps left to this one.

This shou starts dark – lots of rain on hot pavement, earth, dirt, and hot crust, but also plenty of sweetness. I get around 10 infusions, and the last infusions are quite sweet and creamy. There is no bitterness, weird young shou funk, or dryness. A few more years would likely smooth this one out even more.

I found it best leafed hard, 1g 10ml.

Full review on Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/2015-thats-no-moon-shou-puer-crimson-lotus-tea/

May the 4th be with you