Ripened Cube Tuocha Pu-erh Mini Brick 2006

I enjoyed this a lot. It was earthy without tasting rotten or weird like some puerhs can. I found it to be moderately sweet, getting sweeter with later infusions. I infused it for probably ten seconds, then the next couple fifteen, and the couple after that closer to twenty or thirty seconds. The flavors were all similar, they just took turns being center stage. It could have gone much longer, but I really tire of drinking the same tea all day sometimes. It does make dog sitting a little bit easier if I am going to be here all day, as I only needed to bring this one sample packet with me. Of course I brought three full sized tins as options and had ten samples here a few days ago. Because flavor ADD.

Picked this this morning because I wanted a new puerh but didn’t want to go to the trouble of breaking a cake. This is very tasty and sweet. I am not sure just how sweet because I added sugar so it is very sweet. I’m afraid I am not getting the specific notes in the steepster write up but it is good.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 7.1g leaf and boiling water for 30 sec.

Got back really late last night from a quick work trip to Arizona and found my BF/CB teas had arrived! It was a nice sight to see after a flight that was delayed three hours. Ugh! Anyway, still not sure where I’m going to put everything, as my cupboard is exploding now!

I have a bit if a scratchy throat, so didn’t want to try anything too complex, this Shou really hit the spot. These little cubes are convenient and are very clean and smooth-tasting. The tea page mentions a clay taste, and I think I get that in most ripe puerhs. It was evident here, but the flavor was nice and uncomplicated, and sweetened upon further steeps. It steeps out fairly quickly. Overall, it’s a great everyday Shou.

I was going to try and make this one in a gaiwan but I got a last minute notice that prevented me from that and instead I did a single long steep in a 250ml teapot. What’s interesting with this ‘mini’ type of pressed Pu Erh is that it’s really convenient for trips and I use that advantage to the fullest. The disadvantage with this type of Pu Erh is that the leaf is coarsly broken (I’ve seen the fragments from few millimeters to an centimeter or two) which in return results in less steeps and sometimes more bitter taste than the usual pressed ripe Pu Erh.

A good part of these ‘mini’ Pu Erhs are pressed really hard and it takes some time for the leaf to expand and release its active components, but this particular one did it in a minute or so. I wanted to strain it to the cup at that moment but I really didn’t have time to steep the leaves again since I was in a hurry. After five minutes of steeping I got a deep black infusion with brown-red rim and a wet clay-like note at the top mixed with molasses. The first sip revealed a full body with a freshness and element of clay. The finish is more complex with notes of orchid and molasses. As the liquor cools down the elements are getting harmonized and there’s a certain smooth and oily feel in the mouth and lips (actual oil from the leaf, I guess). At this point the aftertaste gets a minty element to it as well. What’s really nice about this tea that it doesn’t develop bitterness or briskness that’s present in some of the ‘mini’ types of Pu Erh.

All in all, very nice and balanced tea for its ‘kind’, the only potential turn away is that it has a certain clay accent that some people don’t like.