http://postimg.org/image/myf05dssv
This is the most difficult tea I’ve ever tried to brew. I know it’s a yellow pu’erh cake which means I shouldn’t use too hot of water, but dang… I ended up brewing this 7 times until I got it to about what might be considered ideal. 190f is too hot and 30s is too long. I ended up brewing 180f for 10s and it came out rather smooth. I am going to try again at 170f for 10s next time because these leaves seem to be delicate. The tea smells stronger than it taste which is nice and the taste is not something I can describe. I will say that they is no bitterness like many shengs have. The taste is a bit funky, which I expected after reading reviews online. I’ve drank quite few cups of this which should account for something, then again I had to tinker a lot with it. I can tell that the taste isn’t as appealing as say a shou would be for many, or even a sheng at that, but I find it interesting in a calming way as I try to figure out what I’m tasting.
This came from the cake that has a piece of hay in it :) https://instagram.com/p/3AIuZMRYBb/?taken-by=liquidproust
I don’t expect anything bad to come from that though since it’s dried hay and not something like, say, packing tape :p