"Planet Bangdong" 2017

Accidentally did the whole session at the higher leaf ratio of 4g/45-50ml. But it was nice. I hate to break up these balls but 8 grams will often be far too much caffeine for me in one sitting. The scent of apricots is unmistakeable. Whereas the nose in tea is usually of dried fruit, this one smells like we splashed in a bit of preserves or juice. Taste and body are low key. Unassuming. A few steeps in, the juicy apricots give way to baek ahng geum (백앙금) or the sweetened white bean paste filling found in Korean pastries. I pushed a little hard and got some astringency but overall this has been quite a gentle, forgiving tea. Now the sweetness has mostly gone and the scent is of hot savory ground up legumes of some sort, peas, beans, or lentils. I dunno why but steep 6 is my favorite so far in terms of taste and mouthfeel. Do not waste this as a shared beverage during a serious conversation. You will want to focus on the tea. Several of CLT’s offerings have tasted and smelled bean-y to me, and it would be fun to know why. 7 and 8 were also lovely. Comfy scent. Nice mouthfeels. 9 and 10 are also yummy. The scent now has some faint florals in it on top of the beans. Overall, it smells like the kitchen of a very loveable cook. Isn’t that strange? It could give more if boiled, but I am calling this done at 11.

This is my favorite of the 3 Crimson Lotus dragon balls I’ve tried so far. It has a good range in its profile. The rinsed leaf produced aromas of powdered sugar, peach, English peas and yeast. Started off savory, sweet and mineral with some bitterness in the back that lasts throughout the session. Smooth and brothy with a honeyed aftertaste. Then came an herbal addition (definite thyme) and at this point, I picked up watermelon/rind and faint basil on the lid. This was followed by buttery, fruity peach and yeasty notes, then florals and some astringency. Last steep of 7 minutes had a nice tartness. The pure sugar smell in the bottom of the cup and the strong returning sweetness that lasted the whole session were incredible. Honestly, this tea reminded me of a chardonnay in its buttery/yeasty character. The spent leaf was very chopped and tippy. Very high in caffeine, whew. The tastes make it something I want to buy more of but the caffeine would make it a rare indulgence for me.

Gongfu, 100C, one planet (>8g)/110mL.
I was intimidated to try this because I’ve heard that puerh from the Lincang region is really punchy when young but a great candidate for aging….and this is a 2017 and I don’t like astringency but I decided to go with my small gaiwan rather than lowering the leaf:water ratio in my bigger gaiwan.
I liked this a lot :).
After loosening the planet up, I noticed that most of the material is really tippy
Steep 1 after loosening up the leaves with a rinse, I sniff the lid and think I’m stuffing my face into some cotton candy! The sip isn’t super flavorful, but after swallowing leaves a clean, crisp, sweet sensation like sugar snap peas which I love
Steep 2: still clean but more herbaceous, not astringent at all yet which I had been bracing myself for so…shrug. I like this a lot so far.
When I take a sip of Steep 4,…whoa. I immediately think of Italian Wedding Soup as weird as it sounds, this reminds me of basil, maybe a hint of thyme too. This also has me feeling like whoaaa! loads of energy. Also the cup smells like cotton candy when sipping down. I will note definitely don’t steep this too long, steep 5 was definitely too long, and the liquor came out cloudy and bitter.
By steep 7, the herbaceous bite left. I think I’m used to having bitterness up front from young sheng followed by a late sweetness. This is reversed here—intense sweetness up front that gives way to some crisp bitterness but not totally unpleasant.
All in all this was pretty damn good, and I definitely learned something about my tastes in puerh. Maybe I’ll start exploring the Lincang region more…