Feng Qing "Golden Puerh" Loose Ripe Puerh Tea

My small YS order arrived yesterday and this tea was in it. I bought the easy purple clay gaiwan set for me to use at work and thought this tea would go well with it. I will go on record and say that for the best part of my tea drinking exploration I have disliked Pu Erh. I kept trying it over the years and found it either too bitter or too soft. There were a few exceptions but for the most part everything I had I disliked and I felt that perhaps Pu Erh was just not for me. That was until this year I decided to perhaps explore even further. I believe I was getting tea from the wrong places, and the cheap grade Pu Erh is not worth it. Some came without certificates and some deals were too good to be true, it’s no wonder I disliked them, you get what you pay for. Now I will only buy Pu Erh from dealers that I trust.

That leads me to this tea, purchased from a trusted place and a nice quality. The golden tips are beautiful! Full of downy hairs and shine, with a musty smell that is sensual and peppery. I’ve come a long way to even willingly drink Shu let alone describe it as sensual.

I’m not keeping time of steeping times and this is a relaxed review, something I do for personal enjoyment. Sometimes there is no fun in having to start a timer.

In flavour this is soft, smooth and very easy to drink. While it’s subtle in flavour the creaminess makes it very enjoyable. Earth mixed with raw sugarcane and an aftertaste of dry, light musty wood. No impure flavours or scents.

A few steeps in and it remains consistent in flavour and strength.

I’m writing this when I’m supposed to be doing my white2tea club blog. I should really get back to that. Until then I will be drinking and thoroughly enjoying this tea.

This is a fairly tasty ripe puerh tea. It is a believe all buds. The tea itself had a slightly fishy smell to it. While there was a fair amount of fermentation flavor to this tea I didn’t get fishy when I brewed it. I suppose I could have just not noticed it. This tea is mildly sweet, dark and rich in the early infusions. There was also, however a slight sour note to this tea in the first infusion and maybe the second. It did not last. The fermentation taste weakened a lot by the fifth or so steep too. It developed a somewhat fruity taste in the later steeps. Didn’t notice notes of chocolate but I could have missed them. As far as comparing this tea to other loose puerh I think it is not quite as good as the loose puerh by Mandala tea. It is much cheaper though. I think I paid $12 for 100g. Overall this is an enjoyable tea to drink.

I steeped this tea eight times in a 120ml gaiwan with 8.5g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec.