2006 Artisan Revival Stone-Pressed Sheng

I’m not a Pu’erh expert, but I am a big fan. I like the heritage in the process of this tea. It reminded me of slightly weak Darjeeling though instead of a hearty Pu’erh. I probably won’t have this again.

This is my first straight pu-erh, my only other experiences being DavidsTea’s blends.

This is beautiful. I definitely get the pipe tobacco and cloves, it’s a lovely little tea that I am thoroughly enjoying. I love the earthiness of it! I added sugar because I always add sugar. It’s not fair for me to rate a tea without it. But it is delicious. I am very pleased and very impressed by my first straight pu-erh! I’m suddenly very glad we just ordered another sampler pack from Verdant, I want to try everything they have!

My first Sheng, I don’t really feel like I know enough about them to rate this one. I drank a lot of shu pu-erh when I first gave up drinking coffee and I enjoy them quite a lot.

I brewed small amounts of my tea in a glass infuser mug. I kept the steeping times short, to around 60 seconds or so.

First impression: this reminds me of the Heritage Rougui I picked up at Red Blossom Tea Company. According to David’s notes this one has anxi oolong as a base. I am getting cedarwood, and spice with a slightly earthy and smoky flavor. A hint of smoke. My first two infusions were slightly bitter but I think my water was also too hot. I learned (also at Red Blossom) that if the water is too hot for you to drink it is also too hot for the tea.

Around the 3-4th infusion this is really hitting its’ stride for me, I used a lower water temperature and was now picking up more of the oolong base with some smoother chestnut notes.

The fifth infusion yielded some vegetal and honey flavors but I decided not to steep it again after #5.

This was a pretty fun tea drinking experience! Next time I will try it with less hot water from the very start.

This sheng came in a few weeks ago and I already have named it my “Perfect Pu’er”. It is everything a Sheng pu’er should be; sweet, cooling, complex, not drying. If someone that knew Sheng came over and asked me to prepare one tea for them to show them the best of my collection, I would pull out this tea without reservation.

The compression of the brick is unlike anything I have ever seen. Since it is hand pressed in the old fashion it is a perfectly loose and ready for an ideal aging process. As far as flavor, this immediately has an aroma and initial flavor of sweet tobacco, and clove. The tea is completely salivating, with hints of sweet fruits while still possessing floral notes of lilac. Incredibly complex. Steep 25+ times, any less would do this tea an injustice.

Oh my God, my mouth is still salivating three hours later and it won’t stop. I’ve been hoarding this for a few years, parsimoniously steeping some here and there. It’s so delicious, with a mix of butter rum, cherry pipe tobacco and eucalyptus. This tea vibrates from the throat down to the chest, with a cooling, mellowing essence.

It’s nearly 10 years old now and it’s fascinating to experience the metamorphosis to deeper tones.

I kind of feel bad that I brewed up my small sample without checking Steepster first to see what the best brewing method would be. Instead I just used my small teapot/strainer and punted: 185 degrees, four minutes. What I got is still delightful: a sort of mineral cleanness, light sweetness, like I imagine sucking on a cloud would be. At the end of a mouthful I get a small amount of bitterness—nothing I can’t deal with, and probably only because of the long steep time. (I’m sorry…I’m SORRY…) This is earthier than the whites and greens I’m used to—yes, even discounting that the cup smells like clay. The earthiness sort of grabs onto my taste buds and won’t let go. Very tasty!

I can’t see the color of the tea because I’m using one of the small egg-shaped inside-glazed clay teacups I got in Turkey (the pottery shop served us apple tea in them, and I fell in love on the spot), but reddish-brown is the general impression I get.

When I am done drinking the hot (now warm) tea I’ll put the rest of the teapot’s contents in the fridge and see how it tastes cold in the morning. Probably it’ll be only okay, but I hate to waste the rest of the pot due to my own carelessness.

You know what this means, right? Right? I’m going to have to order some of this stuff and do it RIGHT next time. (I believe this is exactly what samples are supposed to do. Good marketing strategy, David!)

This pu’er is superb! To start, I am not even one to drink pu’er tea. However, I enjoyed this tea as it gave me a overwhelming sense of full rich flavor with out being at all musty. I first smelled the tea and picked up notes of fresh pressed newspaper with a lingering sweet floral sent as well. The initial taste was extremely smooth and especially floral. As the steeping went on the flavor became much more complex-transforming the flowery taste into the taste of rich sweet grass. The tea surprising never became bitter but instead more and more layered with each steeping. A perfect balance between smooth, sweet, and complex. Sipping this tea brought me back to the moist summery nights of playing after dark. Verdant tea, you have done it again!

For sure a sheng from what seems like Autumn months.

It had a bit of sweetness to it that reminded me of some green teas, but it was much more deep than that and not as fun but more complex for sure. I am a lover of ALL pu’ers, as long as they are good…which ALL are not, haha.

This is a well above average tea though. The deep tobacco with a little sweetness and a lot of life to it…lasts a while. I give it a 85% or so as it could have had a bit more to it being that it is 6-7 years old…but still a FINE TEA!

This is really a great sheng.
All the infusions I have done are fantastic.

In particular I remember the first: this one remember me of winter time; in fact it smells like the smoke of the fireplace.
The second infusion is totally different: this one remember me of summer time; in fact it taste like melon.

I like the description of this smelling like books, because it really does. A sort of musty scent and flavour. I’m not sure how I felt about it. It was . . . wildly different from any other tea I’ve tasted. Then again, it’s one of the only straight aged pu’erhs I’ve ever sampled. I think I’ll have to try it again. I am definitely intrigued. Not going to rate this one quite yet.