I received this as a free sample along with my pu-erh gift order. Thank you Esgreen for the sample!
Leaf Quality:
This tea came in the form of compact tea globes. The leaves themselves were easy to separate whole from the ball for easier brewing. The scent was nice, earthy, and mellow. The short rinse I gave the tea globe got rid of all of what little stems there were. The rinsed leaves smelled very mellow as well, and had mossy and malty tones to them. After the first brewing, the tea carried the faint scent of barley and earth.
Brewed Tea:
The brewed tea had a mild mossy flavor with light smokey undertones. This tea has definitely mellowed out over the years. The dark amber brew was very smooth and left a sweet and malty aftertaste.
Second Steeping
The second brew was much the same as the first. Mellow, earthy, malty and sweet with slight smokey undertones. The aftertaste was a bit different. Muscatel notes shown through.
Third Steeping
The smokey undertones mellowed out quite a bit for this brew. In stead, it was replaced with an aftertaste similar to mushroom or fungus. The liquor is getting silkier with every steep, with about the same amount of earthiness thus far.
Fourth Steeping
This steeping had more body then the others. There was a heavier earthy presence along with a woody finish.
Fifth Steeping
This brew was very sweet and had a stronger essence of cooked mushroom.
Sixth Steeping
Though brewed longer, this brew was substantially lighter than the rest. The color was a pinkish-amber. This steeping was as sweet as the previous, but the earthiness had completely left. There were more wood tones.
Seventh Steeping
This was very mellow and sweet. Nice woody notes still held strong.
This was a great tea. This aged rather well in my opinion.
I like that one too, reminds me of hearty brew of coffee that my stomach forbids me to have.
This was definitely a great sample.