Smelling the dry leaf of this tea I thought it to be quite a bit less earthy or aquatic as other pu’erhs I’ve tried. The piece I recieved from Pu’erhshop was more compact than other pu’erhs as well. After rinsing I saw that the color was a strong yellow with a little green. The wet smell sweet. First taste also revealed a very sweet and minty flavor that actually subdued much of the warm earthy flavor that became more prevalent after a few steeps. The earth tone that was present came out more a sandelwood; leather mixed with cedar but less acidic. There was a hint of creaminess and little astringency to speak of, this however increased with cooling of the drink. Afterflavor is very pleasant and minty.
Second steep; astringency has backed off again allowing me to further enjoy the sweeter notes. The complexity has increased in that the warm earth feel tried to push it’s way forward, but the sweet wouldn’t yeild. Now I’m starting to taste the more common woodiness, say of acorns. The astringency rises with time as before, but the minty afterflavor helps to compensate for one who shys from dry drinks. Generally speaking I like this pu’erh, especially since there are no exaggerated complaints of ‘fish smell’ from the peanut gallery in my home. It’s not as good as some of the pu’erhs in my sampler, but I’m starting to see a gravitation toward pu’s.
Note; after a few more steeps the more common wet earth/aqautic flavor showed up,not that it’s a bad thing.
Boiling
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