2013 Daxue Five Century Raw Pu'erh

200 degrees. 4g of tea. Gongfu. Dry tea aroma reminds me of cigars (why do so many shengs smell like cigars to me?) 2 five second rinses. First steep ten seconds. Wondering if I didn’t use enough tea. Will try a longer steep next time. 20 secs. Flavor is very mild. No bitterness. 30 secs. Ugh. I may have to come back to this one and try it another day.

EDIT: I came back and tried it another day. This time I added a wee bit of brown sugar and you know what? I LOVE THIS TEA. I lost count how many steeps in I am. I could drink this all night. I’m going to have to try the 2007 Clouds and Fog again and see if sweetening it will increase my enjoyment of that tea as well. I am a happy girl.

This is a strong young sheng. It was quite bitter in the early steeps. It took a while to mellow out. Not entirely sure what notes I’m getting here but its good. I definitely need to pull something out of the pumidor and find a place for this. My pumidor is packed you see.

I steeped this ten times in a 120ml gaiwan with 9g leaf and 200 degree water. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min.

this was my puerh for the day – working from home i try to get at least one in. We’re coming down to crunch time for my trip so i really need to get a few more sipdowns in quickly! not that i really have many, but even a focus on puerh has been good. this is quite pleasant and very enjoyable. all that aside, i need to figure out which raw puerh i want to keep in my cupboard since i generally prefer ripe. :)

Tealizzy was kind enough to send me a sample of this tea! I have been curious about it for a while :)

And it lives up to the hype! Very complex, super sweet and apricotty, silky, a little floral and just enough tart/bitter notes to keep it interesting. Damnit, now I really want to order a cake! :D

I took some pics of my session-
http://instagram.com/p/ySDHvwxh4N/?modal=true
http://instagram.com/p/ySGqwRRhwZ/?modal=true
http://instagram.com/p/ySG5zxRhw2/?modal=true

Very good tea. Getting notes of minerals and dates.
Sweet and light for such a young puerh.

This is my third time having this tea but the first time leaving a review. The first time I was so caught up in my work, I loved the tea but couldn’t remember what stood out. Second time I was coming down with a cold. It tasted off to me. ALL my teas did that day. On this third time, I loved it just as much as the first.

I did 3 rinses 10/10/15. Then I brewed for 20 sec. This tea reminds me a little bit of my Wild Mountain Green 2011 which I love. This one is a much fuller body. Teafairy mentioned it was almost oily and I have to agree. It has a really thick mouth feel. Apricot notes are really prominent and delicious and here’s the treat: You take a sip and get apricot right away, then it hits the back of the tongue and it’s like cream. Amazing! And so addictive! Overall it was quite smooth. I detected slight (only slight) bitterness in the early steeps which rapidly disappeared. I’ve put it aside after having 3 cups today but I know from having this before, it takes multiple infusions. I mean MULTIPLE!! I was using some of it to season my yixing the first time I had this tea and I was up to about 15 infusions. I can’t believe a sheng so young can give so much in the leaves. I’m so glad I got a cake of this!

I am having more of this today from the same leaves. It’s still as delicious! I even forgot my brewing time on one cup. I have no idea how long I left it and it still tastes great.

Enjoying the umpteenth steeping of this tea! I got the parameters right today…lower water temperature, right amount of leaf, and starting out slow with steep times. Didn’t really notice any bitterness today. It was just smooth and sweet throughout. Yay!

So I’m a little late to the party on this review.

I had this earlier today with the TEAplets. But I was unable to focus on writing my review. Now is a better time.

I was lucky enough to receive the gift of tea from Sarsonator: this beautiful Mandala cake. She made this very special for myself and MzPriss (who was also given the same cake) as it wasn’t even available yet on Mandala’s website. That’s what I call a REAL surprise!

Now how thoughtful and generous was that? Thank you so much Sarsy, I am so grateful!

Right from the get go, I had a feeling it would be a good one. The cake looks amazing, as if every single leaf was placed strategically to create a little work of art.

It broke very easily, no need to fight it, loosely compressed.

I used 8g for a 5oz yixing clay pot.

First, I love the golden liquor it produces. It’s thick and almost oily as I pour the first steep in the pitcher.

The leaves are barely awake, and already they render a taste that completely seduces me. We all agree: it’s remarkable.

Stone fruits, mostly soft and ripe apricot. Super sweet and silky, heavy mouthfeel of honey.

In later steeps, that sweetness turns into maple water. I also get juicy apple notes. It’s not smokey at all, and that astringency normally present in young sheng is nowhere to be found.

Around steep seven, I get a certain acidity, but i think I just let it steep too long. It’s very potent.

I had dinner, and went back to it. It kept giving and giving.

Thank you so much again Sarsy, and thanks to Garret who helped make this surprise happened, you are such a classy guy!

As usual, for those who love to watch:

http://instagram.com/p/sieu8HQhy4/

http://instagram.com/p/sid0Ccwhxw/

http://instagram.com/p/sjB3-oQh6e/

Wow.

I took a gamble on this one and Garret did not lead me astray. Thanks so much, G-Mac. You picked a real beauty!

Method: 6g, 6oz, 200 degrees, rinse-10-15-20, sheng yixing and Goldie

Aroma: Smells very strongly of grape and smoked apricots, but it has a freshness that was very pleasant.

Flavor: First, this feels like butter. It’s creamy and so very smooth. It’s fruity and sweet, with almost no bitterness and only the lightest astringency on the finish. It made me feel all warm and it did not take long for my tea drunk wooziness to start. I have a sheng glow. A nuttiness starts to emerge, too.

I adore this tea. It’s amazeballs!

http://instagram.com/p/sicksFPkTp/
http://instagram.com/p/sidY09vkVP/

I was very surprised to get a Mandala box that I didn’t remember ordering. When I opened it, I found a note from Garret saying it was a surprise from my Teaplet Sarsonator and that my other Teaplet, the Lovely Tea Fairy was getting one too. At that point, this had not been released on the Mandala site and it made me cry. Sarsy went to a LOT of trouble working with Garret to make this amazing surprise happen and I heart them both a LOT.

Today we finally all three have our supply of this and we are having a Teaplet sheng party. And Holy Crap. This is so incredibly delicious.

I put 5 grams in the wee shengxing and away I went. The rinse was divine. The liquor is pale and golden and a premiere of coming attractions.

This is so fruity and smooth. It tastes like apricot jam with exactly zero astringency or bitterness. No smoke to be found either. There is that catch at the back of my throat that tells me I’m shengin’

I got a lovely and immediate full body creeping warmth and relaxation. I can’t EVEN believe this is a baby sheng. I love baby shengs, but this one tastes like it has a little age on it. It keeps getting better as I go through the steeps.

LTF remarked that it reminds her of my favorite (until now??) Mandala sheng, Wild Mountain Green and I agree in that there is a load of fruit, in this case apricot and a load of smooth and it makes for a gorgeously happy relaxed tea drunk.

THANK YOU MY DARLING SARSY!!!! And also Garret for making it happen!

It makes me feel all reverb-y y’all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_5593-skQ