Thank you Teavivre for sending this sample my way!
I was in the mood for some shu this afternoon and hopefully this caffeine will not keep me awake later… instructions say to brew this at 212 F for 3 to 10 minutes? That seemed like a lot to me.
I decided to dump my whole sample in a little yixing and I have been doing steeps for 30 seconds. This is a very nice shu, has pleasant flavors of coffee, cocoa and a fruitiness like dates. This is a very clean tasting tea, without any musty flavors or odors that would signify a bad tea. The reviews on Teavivre’s web site, a couple of people had different opinions and remarked on the fermentation flavor and a mustiness but I didn’t pick this up.
Lately I’ve been wondering about shu pu’erh as it’s fermented with bacterias which might be good (like probiotics) but also aspergillus niger which is a fungus/mold and one I might be allergic to. Right now I don’t notice any bad effects from drinking shu and I know it is supposed to be healthy… so I will keep drinking it anyway.
This is a very good tea. I would definitely consider buying a cake of it for drinking now.
