2015 Old Reliable – Ripe Puer House Blend

I think the best way to describe Old Reliable is that it is a “generic shou puerh” in the best possible sense. Basically a good quality everyday puerh that I think is summed up in its name of Old Reliable house blend. A simple puerh for when you just want a decent plain puerh to enjoy.

I am brewing this with 8g from a 25g sample. I started with a 5s infusion and increased by 5-10s for the first few, then went up by a minute or two for the last couple of steeps. The first few steeps were sweet and earthy with a hint of mushroom, wood, wet earth. Tastes like the scent of a forest after a rainfall, or a wet decaying log, but in a good way. I noticed a slight sour tang on the finish. Around the 4th steeping, the earthiness started to fade into a pleasant taste that reminded me of cooking rice mixed with roasted pecans. I ended this around the 8th or 9th steep doing around 5 minute infusions. For the price, I think this is worth it as a daily drinker.

From the Beginner’s Pu’erh TTB.

Had a gongfu session with a ceramic gaiwan. Gave the leaf a five second rinse, let it sit for five minutes, and then gave it another five second rinse. Steeping times: 5 seconds, 5, 5, 5, 5, 10, 25, 40, 80; 10 minutes. (whopper of a jump, right?)

Dry leaf aroma: leather, earth.
Heated bowl and wet leaf aromas: sweetness of cocoa. Holy cocoa!

The soup right off the bat is dark red in color and has a creamy texture. It takes the first several infusions for the sourness of fermentation to disappear completely. Traveling in the box may have helped some. There is an underlying sweetness that totally takes over at the fifth infusion, which is clear of fermentation and in appearance. Five to the end taste very much the same, of loam and leather and a bit of chocolate. The aftertaste is very sweet and tastes like Raisinettes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHM-rkQB9TO/

This shou doesn’t taste or feel rich – it’s a milder one. One could drink this in the summer no problem (regardless of the fact that today was overcast and cooler summer day). Aptly named. I think this is off to a good start for aging. Good beginner shou, too.

Gongfoolery with my tea pet, Winona: https://www.instagram.com/p/BHNMeUbB9bC/

Good aroma? Check.
Good body? Check.
When brewed heavy will it turn to spent motor oil? Check.
Way super affordable? Check.
Buy some.

This is one of the best ripe puers that I have ever tasted. (Although that isn’t saying much just look at my logged teas.) It has complexity and actually some huigan. I don’t drink ripe often, but when I do, I would like to drink something like this. With this kind of quality, its enough reason for me to stop supporting the larger factories. Sure the big names are reliable, but with my experience, white2tea is on another plane of reliability.

From the Jan 2016 White2tea club

This shou is a really nice daily drinker at an excellent price. It’s pretty friendly for a new pu’er person too. It’s a cedar wood flavor and later steepings getting really sweet. It’s clean tasting and absolutely no funky shou shenanigans going on. There’s some sour notes in the early infusions, but it fades fast.

Full review on Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/january-2016-white2tea-club-featuring-2015-old-reliable-ripe-puer/

Impressions: Earthy with big notes of wet cedar and mulch. Damp vegetation on the nose here and there. A tiny hint of sweetness and woody spice (cedar) on the finish. A bit round and kind of clumsy, but it is enjoyable to drink now – void of any unpleasant fermentation flavor. No great characteristics in the mouth, but does leave a smooth and slightly sweet finish lingering for a few minutes after drinking. I think this will continue to age well .

Received this cake in the January edition of White2Tea’s monthly club. Before I even tried the tea I was grinning at the wrapper.

This is my second time trying it and it’s got amazing tea mist! I’m really enjoying watching the beautiful patterns forming at the surface of my cup. I get a nice bittersweet flavour that ends with a bit of lingering sour tartness. The first time I drank it I thought it was an aftertaste from something I ate before. To be clear, the sourness is not unpleasant or even very strong. Some people might not even notice it unless they’re looking for it.

Old Reliable is a solid shou with a name that suits it. Definitely a solid daily drinker with strong flavours that don’t give out too quickly.

Old Reliable is a great tea that has many flavors that the Marlboro Man would be drinking himself! this tea reminds me of the ‘old wild west’. It’s many flavors makes it a ripe pu-erh that’s amazing for any occasion for any tea drinker. It’s exceptional, especially for the price.

Steeps 1-3:

I started this tea by breaking up a few chunks. I did 6.5g for a 3.3oz vessel. The cake was really easy to break apart with my tea pick, and almost smelled like mushrooms-fish before brewing.

On my first infusion I did a quick brew. I was hit with the taste of mushrooms and sweet aftertaste of malt. It has a sweet fragrance that reminded me of caramel. On my 2nd and 3rd infusion, the mushroom taste started to phase out and notes of tobacco started to come out.

Steeps 4-7:

The liquor of the tea started to turn from golden orange to dark brown. The taste of malt-caramel disappeared on my 4th steep but the notes of mushroom were lingering on. As I moved on to my 6th infusion, it started to taste like bark and tobacco. The smell and taste of tobacco started to take over and was very pleasant. It reminded me of when I was watching westerns with my mom growing up. Tombstone came to mind as the tea turned from a bold texture to a smooth leathery texture. All I could think about was Clint Eastwood or the Marlboro Man.

Steeps 8-12:

The tea still has tobacco notes but the after taste of caramel-malt notes are back (unfortunately they’re very weak)! On the other hand the bark and mushroom notes are nearly gone. It’s smoothing out like an aged cigar with the texture of a lazy-boy leather recliner. It’s lost it’s bite at this point but I’m still enjoying it!

Conclusion:

I would buy this tea again. I got many memories of watching westerns as a little kid growing up, and it’s nothing short of complex. They way it changes its notes through out the steeping process took me on a great tasting journey. It never got bitter or astringent, which is why I’m placing another order for this tea!

I got this as part of January White2tea club package and I must say that it really surprised me positively. I must add that I’m not the biggest ripe puer fan, but still enjoyed this cake a lot.

The tea has really nice aroma of wood with sweetness and hints of tobacco. The taste stays mostly the same every steep albeit it becomes little sweeter over the time. There is no annoying du wei left as promised. It will be interesting to see how the taste develops over the time as promised.

Big plus for the wrapper art too, it fits the tea perfectly.

I really liked this tea and I’m pretty sure that will buy this next time when I order something from White2tea, since one 200g cake is only 14,50$, which I would call a great deal. Absolutely recommended, especially if you are planning to order something from White2tea and want something extra with your order, be sure to snag this tea.