2005 Changtai “Bu Lang Mountain” Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake. Yunnan Sourcing USA.
The cake is loosely compressed and with only a little prodding 5 g. fell off the cake, enough for steeping. I gave it serial 30 s. infusions in 6 oz. alpine spring water at 195°F. after a 10 s. discarded wash in same. First steep was light amber liquor with soft fragrance of tea, flavors of aged wood, slight astringency and a drying sensation. Second was medium amber with stronger notes of same flavor profile. Some minerality and bitterness along the sides and back of my tongue. A soft, clean petrichor aroma, aftertaste with note of brazil nut and wheat bread and a caffeine kick. Third infusion was the same. For a twist, I turned the Fourth infusion into sweetened iced tea, which was quite tasty. My last infusion, the fifth, was much like the third in color and flavor, even though I’d increased the water to 8 oz., boiling, and steeped for 2 min. This was less tannic and had a smoother mouthfeel. This tea is still relatively young and I’m undecided whether to recommend or not. Overall I found it more of a challenge than a joy to drink, except when sweetened and iced. For now, I’ll only rate it at 50, but revisit in a year and see if it’s improving.
Flavors: Astringent, Bitter, Brazil Nut, Bread, Decayed Wood, Dry Leaves, Drying, Mineral, Petrichor, Tannic, Tea
Not that it really matters in terms of what your brewing experience was like, but I don’t really think a 20ish year old sheng would be considered young anymore. There’s not really a hard a fast “rule” for when a pu’erh stops being young, but most forums/tea communitys/etc I’ve come across seem to have a general consensus that 8-10 years is no longer young. So it’s maybe more like it’s in the later portion of its awkward adolescence phase before “maturing”.
That’s fair, Ros. Especially given that Yunnan Sourcing describes it as having been “Aged in hot and humid Guangdong…”. So perhaps middle-aged is a better way to describe the chronology, regardless of my impression of its sensory maturity. But since I don’t think I’ve actually tasted anything over 35 years old, it’s hard for me to know how serious and properly maintained aging should impact flavor and fragrance. Shortcuts like storage in Taiwan or climate-controlled conditions outside of Yunnan or Burma are known to accellerate the process, vs. Kunming storage but, again, I just do not have the experience or finances to properly evaluate that.