2018 Yunnan Sourcing "Lucy" Ripe Pu-erh

Brewed and noted on 23 Sept. ‘24. This was a 25g bag I’d bought last year from YS, and I’d forgotten about it until looking over the comments from my review 2 yr ago of the 2020 Yunnan Sourcing “Ba Da Mountain” Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake and seeing that user looseTman had asked about it back then. I must have brewed it previously and not reported because 5g is missing.

Anyway, I did my version of a gongfu session, using 5g tea, a stainless infusion basket, 3 ounce espresso cups, and alpine spring water at 90°C. Started with 10 sec wash, discarded, then six infusions of 15 sec each, then an hours’ pause, and six more infusions, again 15 sec each. I suspect I could have done a third set for a total of 18 decent cups, but stopped. The first two of each set were very strong and could have been yet briefer. The attached photos show the dozen infusions, from right to left. The weakest ones were #11 & #12.

I was not thrilled with this tea, as I have been with my other recent ripe puer tastings of late. There was still a bit of wet-pile humidity odor and taste in the first four infusions that masked any more subtle flavors. Not astringent, not fishy, not creamy either. No bitterness. It is a decent, solid tea, and I was pleased by the camphor arising in #5 & #6, and later by the lingering finish with notes of hazelnut in 10, 11, & 12. I didn’t get any notes of cocoa or fruit or leather. Next time, I’ll cut down the leaf by half, and try to control the early infusions to produce a less inky brew. YMMV. I’m also going to transfer the remaining tea from its mylar pouch to a filter-paper-covered jelly jar in my darkened tea cabinet for 6 months, so that the wet-pile notes can dissipate before my next session with it.

Full cakes are still for sale on YS and YS.us, and I’ll leave them for others who prefer potent shou.

Date drunk: 2023 May 31st

Dry leaf smells of a fragrant sweet softwood like sandalwood or cedar.
Wet leaf smells woody and like baking brown bread.

Liquor tastes very flavourful, mushroomy and bready like a well-fermented olive bread. Very enjoyable and pairs great with food and fruit.

Rating: 84

I agree with Rich: 2018 Lucy is “…a little more complex.” “It tastes of bittersweet chocolate …” “Very smooth, and moderate caffeine.”

Like Code, we tasted a little astringency. For me, when it was noticeable, it was on the front portion of my tongue. Perhaps it’s related to the notes of bittersweet chocolate?

Overall, intermittent astringency aside, Lucy is rich, smooth and provides 6 full-bodied steeps, 2 moderately full-bodied, with the last 2 being lighter-bodied, but still enjoyable.

At the current $50 regular price, the $/gram ratio could be better – $50/250 g = $.20/g, as Lucy is a 250 g cake as opposed to the traditional 357 g or larger 500 g cakes. With our steeping method, https://steepster.com/looseTman, this works out to be $4/day unless it’s purchased on sale.

I’m admittedly very new to pu-erh teas, and this is my first purchase from a reputable seller. I was somewhat apprehensive about how I’d like this tea, but it’s VERY accessible — even to my novice palate.

There’s a wonderful scent to the tea, and it has very little astringency. There’s a depth of flavor that continues to evolve over multiple infusions. I’m overjoyed with how delicious this tea is, and I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone. As a new pu-erh drinker, I’m extremely satisfied with my purchase.

Very delicious, very aromatic, very accessible tea. No “fishy” smell or taste. After drinking several infusions of this tea gongfu style, I felt relaxed, and my senses were invigorated. I’ll work on detecting the subtler flavors next!

Another one of Scott’s shou blends I really like, it has all the qualities I expect from these. The aroma is a mix of fruits (blueberries, blackberries), fresh seafood (calamari) and cooked meat. The first thing I notice is when drinking the tea is its extremely lubricating and oily mouthfeel that makes me salivate. It is also decently thick and a touch chalky. Taste-wise, it is a very smooth and woody tea. It is more savoury than sweet. Among the flavours I get are those of fireplace, coffee, and blue grapes. The aftertaste is more sweet and earthy and balances out the profile nicely. There is a sort of expansive camphor-like fragrance, nutty flavour and hints of sourness, shades of which are noticeable in the liquor itself as well actually.

In the middle of the session, the profile has some bitterness as well, which is nice. Overall, I would describe the tea as a fruity and woody one with little sweetness and camphor-like aftertaste.

I don’t know why I bother with factory ripe pu erh, I might just stop buying it. Scott’s ripes from Yunnan Sourcing are almost always delicious, bold, high quality, tested for pesticides, and overall consistently good. Lucy is no exception. It is subtly different from their other ripes, a little more complex. I think there is a bit of camphor in the background, which is nice. It tastes of bittersweet chocolate and very slight smoke. Very smooth, and moderate caffeine. Another winner from YS.