2018 Exquisite Poetry

Exquisite Poetry is a nice complex blend with that’s predominately bitter, savoury, and fruity with flowery undertones. As is the case with many raw pu’er teas made from the Ye Sheng variety, the bitterness is not very well integrated in the taste. Since I didn’t have quite enough for two proper sessions, I used an unusually high amount – 10g – but extended it over the whole afternoon. Still, the cha qi was pretty strong and fast. I found it heady, rushy and somewhat ‘hair-raising’.

Now for particular notes – the aroma has strong stonefruit character (mainly apricot) with sweet florals, rust, and laundry detergent in the background. It somehow reminded me of walking through evening streets of some Mediterranean town, but I couldn’t recall which one :D

The taste starts strong and bitter with notes of fruits, nuts, orchid, and allspice. The Ye Sheng character comes out strong in the early steeps. The bitterness weakens a bit after 4 infusions or so, but never quite goes away. Further flavours of courgette, peas, celery, and quinoa emerge throughout the session. Late steeps are quite tart and have a sort of coffee acidity (without the coffee flavours).

The aftertaste is cooling and presents flavours such as those of roasted grains, rice, and green grapes. I quite enjoyed the mouthfeel of this tea, which is viscous, slightly gritty, and numbing. Thanks for the sample tperez :)

Man this site is jacked, can someone drop a comment that Liquid Proust Teas will be at the first Chicago Tea Festival → https://steepster.com/discuss/31512-new-tea-festival-chicago-nov-1-3-2019
I cannot comment on a thing.

I’m really into this one. I knew it would be a sheng that I’d like because I basically rely on Andrew’s preferences for pu-erh, but I am surprised this is a good taster. Most of the tasting notes are a bit more akin to oolong and white, but this is definite sheng all the way through.

I started off with a very light ten second rinse, and the smell was very fruity and floral. I got apricot, marshmellow, peach, grass, and a little bit of sheng astringency amidst a soft, cotton texture. “Viscous” is also a good adjective.

Moving onto the second steep, more florals pop up, namely orchid and, perhaps, honeysuckle. More cotton notes showed themselves, and more stone fruit ones followed.

Steps three through four so far have gotten more astringency and a very pleasant bitterness. I would not say it’s sour, but it is a little bit like a longer steeped Shan Lin Xi. Think green/white grapes. The grape notes were particularly noticeable in the recent steep, and the earlier rinse now that I think about it. I can even feel a little bit of dryness on my teeth and the roof of my mouth. The texture contrasts nicely with the fruitier tones.

I am enjoying this one greatly. I have yet to feel any effects yet since I am not power brewing it in my basic 4.5 grams to 6 oz ratio, but I am enjoying it for the sheer texture and taste. I’m curious to see what someone else’s opinion of this one is. I’m probably going to up the rating as time goes on.