I got this as part of their pu’er sampler. It came in one 14g chunk, easy to break up in two. It’s a medium fermented Menghai Te Ji Grade pu’er, “mostly pure bud with some larger leaves mixed in (technically between gong ting and grade 1).”
It’s a super dark reddish brown liquor with a heavy leather aroma after the first infusion of 5s. The taste wasn’t that heavy of leather (thankfully). It was earthy, mushrooms, wet wood, some leather… Fermentation flavors. As I went through the steeps, the aroma changed and I could smell sweetness, cocoa, still very earthy, some leather. The flavors of fruit came out… Black cherry? Plum? with the earth notes, leather notes, mushroom, and mineral notes. I have no idea what merlot tastes like so if it has those notes as the description says, I wouldn’t know :P. It is rich, and it has a creamy viscous mouthfeel while sipping, ending with a bite. It remained very earthy, mushrooms and hints of fruit throughout. It’s a daily drinker type.
Yixing gaiwan (specifically for shou), 7g, 110ml, rinse, 5s, 7s, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 35s, 40s, 45s, 1m.
Flavors: Cocoa, Earth, Fruity, Leather, Mineral, Moss
