Silver Bud White Pu-erh - Big Snow Mountain (Da Xue Shan) 2003

Thank you JC for this Sample Pu-erh Silver Bud Sheng!

For once, I read the notes by Amy Oh and JC first, because I wanted to know how to best prepare this Sheng Pu-erh.
Amy steeped hers 30 seconds and JC 6 seconds so I did some of both to compare the two.

I used my white porcelain Gaiwan, 4gr. leaf to 4oz. water.

After 1 rinse, the first two steepings were quick…and my least favorite. The leaves seem to take a bit of time to bloom.

There is an aroma, very faint, that I have smelled before in finer Sheng…a savory scent that reminds me of roasting pecans or artichoke hearts.

The first steepings tasted light and sweet like a refreshing glass of mountain water on a hot day. I pictured a cool lake, granite rock with icy water running over moss.

Steeping three was longer…30 seconds. The tea was casaba melon, citrus and semi-sweet. No astringency…just smooth, delightful flavor.

As I keep steeping the leaves, I preferred the longer steep time. The flavor was intriguing. Savory Umami, citrus, exotic melon, sweetness and smooth mouthfeel.

I didn’t find the tea bitter which JC had mentioned.

I’m fond of Silver Buds…for some reason, this kind of tea reminds me of Lake Tahoe and the many times I would sit on the beach looking at the Lake surrounded by tall Ponderosa Pine trees. The scent of pine needles and the clean clear High Sierra pure mountain air is something you can taste (and never forget).

Found my picture…me on a bench looking at the Lake…
http://flic.kr/p/cNoyZJ http://flic.kr/p/c53H9Y

Thank you to JC for sending me a sample of this. I’ve had a few silver needle puerhs and I’ve liked them immensely. When I first saw this I thought it was a green tea, anyway the leaves are very slender and beautiful looking. I probably should have used the whole sample I was given but I used 1/2 of it instead so I suspect this will be a very light tasting.

I steeped this in the Yixing and did a quick rinse, not even sure if that was necessary but oh well… I steeped it for around 30 seconds and it has a nice creamy flavor, reminds me a bit of almonds and is also a bit floral. Very delicate and nice for an evening.

2nd steep: I am getting the melon flavor here and I can kind of see why this tea is named snow mountain, it seems to have the essence of a fresh frosty mountain.

It’s really lovely, thanks for sharing JC! I may steep this a few more times tonight and will keep you posted. ;)

I decided to do an actual tasting note. I’ve been holding back because well I wanted to make it justice since it is my favorite puerh so far. I’ll probably keep revisiting and adding notes as I keep tasting.

Gong Fu Dedicated Yixing Pot 4oz with 3-5grams of tea.

1st Steep – Fruity sweetness like ripe honeydew that becomes clean and becomes fruity and floral as it goes down, it wears a slight bitterness in the aftertaste.

2nd Steep – Fruity and floral fragrance with stronger aftertaste that plays between floral and sweet fruitiness and slight vegetal broth with refreshing finish in the throat.

3rd Steep – Clean Start with apparent sweetness and slight bitterness. It starts turning floral and fruity with slightly vegetal notes and refreshing after taste.

4th Steep – Clean start into a floral that turns vegetal and broth like that leads to a subtle fruity sweetness. As I continue drinking this steep the sweetness seems more apparent with slightly bitter aftertaste.

5th Steep – Clean and sweet start lightly resembles honey with floral tones and somewhat vegetal taste. The scent of ripe melon is apparent for me at this point. The after taste is more sweet and fruity but quickly turns vegetal and refreshing.

6th Steep – Cleaner but sweeter in the front with more apparent fruity notes of honeydew melon that becomes floral and slightly vegetal. The aftertaste is cleaner and refreshing.

7th Steep – Sweet and clean with notes of melon that become floral but this time seems to stay mostly fruity and sweet. The aftertaste is slightly vegetal and refreshing.

8th Steep – Sweet and clean with subtle fruity notes and floral aftertaste that is slightly vegetal and some bitterness that becomes refreshing in the throat.

Some notes: I steeped for 2 seconds on the first 3 steeps and added 1-2 seconds to the following steeps and the cup always maintain a sweet honey like scent. I was able to do 14 steeps last night and continued this morning. When I mentioned ‘vegetal’ I guess I would replace ti with ‘Umami’ a savory taste that is very pleasant but no specific description seems to apply. I will continue to come back to this tea, I love it and its very subtle and complex a the same time.

This is the best pu-erh sheng I have ever had hands down. I happened to also have a current year’s (2013) silver bud white tea to compare it to. Visually it is very similar with the same downy silver/gray and green buds. It seems to have all the best elements of the white tea (buttery mouth feel, fresh vegetal taste) and a few more layers of complexity from the aging (notes of apricot, tobacco, and honey).

It’s a very patient tea and yields multiple and complex steeps without flattening out. I have also found it extremely forgiving and it brews a nice cup no matter how I do it or how long I steep it.

This is the perfect tea for those who like white tea and like puerh. It tastes more like white tea really, but is a bit odd like puerh.

Really really good. I burned it on accident by going 212 on it, but tossed that brew and went about 160 and found a really nice tea. Proably would be good cold brewed, but havent tried that yet…it is SWEET, so if you arent used to that, just know its there.

Winter is coming so better for us to dirnk black probably, but this is a fun tea to have an probably the best of the white teas i have ever tried. tastes like silver needle but a bit better.