2006 Menghai Naka Village Arbor Ripe Puerh Tea Cake

This is a tea with a lot to live up to. So many people have drank and enjoyed the White2Tea Naka. It doesn’t quite manage to live up to its namesake Naka. It had a slightly rocky start. There was a fair amount of fermentation flavor and an unpleasant flavor note I never pinned down. It took several steeps for this unpleasant note to go away. What was left afterward was fairly tasty. The sugar I added to this tea may have helped but there were definite notes of chocolate here. Like its namesake Naka has a reputation for, this tea got me slightly tea drunk. It was not a lasting effect however. If it wasn’t for a poor start this tea would rate at least a 90. In the end I enjoyed this tea. I should add that this tea had quite the potent fermentation aroma to the bing.

I steeped this tea eight times in a 180ml teapot with 10.1g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 sec rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec. Judging by the strength of the brew in the eighth steep I’d say there were at least four more steeps to this tea if I wasn’t at my caffeine limit already.