Golden Gong Ting - 2005

I decided to review this one again because I was a pu’er rookie when I tried it the first time and I am a bit more prepared this time around…and I am going to spend much longer with it. I stopped at 2 minutes the last time.

1st Steep- 30 seconds
Starts out on just the right note. Has a very thick mouthfeel with a nice sweetness to it. Tastes like almonds. I think it was right the first time around when I compared the taste to Amaretti cookies because there is kind of a doughyness.

2nd Steep- 45 seconds
Not as doughy. Still sweet. Less almond though. A touch of fruit.

3rd Steep- 1 minute
Cherries with amaretto. Probably one of the best combinations in the world. I love this tea even more than the first time.

4th Steep- 1.30 seconds
Still cherries and amaretto but the almond is kind of fading. There is a creamy vanilla note on the finish.

5th to 10th Steep- 2-4 minutes
Varying degrees of vanilla. Sometimes it’s straight vanilla extract. Sometimes it’s vanilla bean steeped in heavy cream. And sometimes, it’s lemon and vanilla. Very good.

10th Steep-5 minutes
Vanilla and cinnamon. It’s a sweet cinnamon. Not spicy. Very mild flavored.

11th Steep-15 minutes
The flavor seems to be fading so I thought I’d blast it with one extra long steep. It tastes like cinnamon bark. Spicy this time.

I don’t quite know what it is with Golden Gong Ting. This experience was so different from my first time around. This one was more versatile. Doesn’t quite beat my Special Dark but it’s pretty darn close.

Wow. I might sound crazy but I’ve just had a full-blown religious tea experience. I started out drinking it casually watching Dr. Who honestly having no intention of picking apart the flavors but this tea commanded my full attention. It pulled me into a completely new space. I paused the tv, closed my eyes, and just spent about 15 minutes sipping the cup with my eyes closed making taste associations because boy, the flavors and images this tea presented to me were endless. I got everything from almond cookies, to dirt, to cranberries, and beyond.
I had visions in my mind of everything from sandy beaches to mountains and lush pastures.
And the moment I even just started smelling the wet leaf I felt a real, tangible rush of euphoria and exhilaration.

Honestly, I cannot fully explain just how significant and ethereal this experience was. It was a mental quest through life and all its sensory experiences. This is what great tea is all about, it is almost beyond this world. This tea has taught me to better appreciate tea and to surrender my senses to it fully when I consume it, because after experiences like these, I truly believe that in some way that is currently unknown to me, tea is a divine plant. Call me crazy if you wish… This tea rocked my world, thank you Azzrian, thank you Mandala and thank you to whoever is responsible for the production of this exquisute tea.

I admit it. I’m at home alone, drinking 3 overlapping teas. I got home from the gig, put on the water, prepared 3 small teapots, & went at it. I was also cooking dinner, which I could have done at Tony’s house. He’s probably wondering if I’m ever coming over tonight, & I am, in a few minutes, but I wanted to get a few teas in my system first.

I don’t care for this one. It has a background flavor of cherry cough medicine. It is a sample that I got from the Here’s Hoping TTB, & I suspect that it’s a sample that has been sitting around for awhile.
“But it’s Puerh,” you’ll say, & that is true. But it’s been sitting in a plastic baggie for awhile, buried in the HHTTB with an insane array of flavored teas, & I suspect that it absorbed something during it’s travels, even if they were short.

I rinsed it. I rinsed it again. blech. I ran a few steepings, took a sip of each, & then poured them out because that taste is still there, ruining what I am certain is a wonderful Shu. I’ll have to request a sample from Garret with my next order, so that I can enjoy the untainted version, because I’m pretty sure it’s a lot better than this!

I’m sipping on this one over the course of the morning to give it a full run through of as many steepings as possible. Gracebtlb sent this my way and i’ve been looking forward to trying it.

First couple steeps have been earthy with a hint of almond.

Edit: as this progresses the tea is becoming slightly sweet. I’m not getting the cherry flavours that grace mentioned but i am really enjoying this.

(more to come later)

Imagine the best Golden Needle black tea you’ve had, but fermented. Since this is a budset tea it is much sweeter than your normal Pu’er. The hue is a deep yellow-gold color that is rich in pu’er goodness. Very different from what most usually associate in their mind as a classic Pu…but don’t let that dismay you, this is very good!

Notes to come. First, I want to try this one again.