Yunnan Ripe Puerh Chrysanthemum Cake

I bought this 100g mini cake of shou in May of 2018, at a bargain price, brewing a bit of it every couple years and storing the broken-up cake in a jelly-jar with a porous filter paper cover, in the dark of my tea cabinet, at 50-60 %RH. The tea arrived in an unmarked paper wrapper and was discontinued by Tealyra several years ago. However, the cake appearance and the taste & aroma of the tea is so similar to a Yunnan Sourcing product that I believe they may be the same. See: http://steepster.com/teas/yunnan-sourcing/47144-2013-yunnan-sourcing-ripe-pu-erh-and-snow-chrysanthemum-tea-mini-cak . It appears to still be available from YS, as of Aug 2024, still rather inexpensive. Over the years the orange-color of the chrysanthemum petals has darkened quite a bit. Note these are just chrysanthemum petals mixed into the chopped tea, and it is not a “blooming” tea.

Brewed western style, the soup from 5g tea in 16 oz. boiling alpine spring water was rich, smooth, fragrant, and enjoyable. And I, too, also get the impression of dill pickles (not vinegary, just the taste & smell of dill.). I don’t know if it is intentional or if some dill inadvertently got into the mix. Dill is a large weedy plant and if the tea was mechanically harvested, it could have been picked up. It is what it is. Some folks add other herbs like sage or clove or saffron to their tea, so I won’t consider the surprise dill as a defect. No fishy or wet-pile compost flavors, no astringency. Very strong, this would give many gongfu infusions if that is your method, and a few good brews even western style. I like it as a unique shou pu-erh, and will continue enjoying it!