A review of a sample purchased through Yunnan Sourcing
Excited to try an older ripe puerh, the wife and I sat down for a session after dinner. Brewed with water that had been off the boil for about 5 minutes, I brewed about 5 grams in a hario teapot in a gong-fu fashion, rinsing the tea for about 15 seconds and discarding the water, then adding fresh water for subsequent steeps. The water was cooler with each steep, as I did not reheat the water on the stove. I believe this led to the tea being so smooth and calming.
I should also note that each steep was approx 200ml of water, as my wife and I enjoyed the session together with 100ml cups. Someone drinking alone would likely get far more steeps than we did.
First steep – 10 seconds – strong umami taste, not bitter or astringent. Medium red color tea. Not yet much of a mouth feel, perhaps even a bit dry.
Second steep – 10 seconds – a far deeper and darker red, the umami taste was somewhat tamed to reveal a strong honey flavor, of which my wife was very pleased. The mouth feel somewhat creamy
Third steep – 10 seconds – continues to be deep and dark red, umami taste further tamed, the honey slightly more pronounced but with a hint of caramel. The mouth feel remains soft with body.
At this point we decided that the tea was very calming and relaxing.
4th steep – 15 seconds – still deep red, however the flavors diminished across the board. The mouth feel was reduced.
I feel that there was at least one more steep, but we were content to stop where we were at. The current rate of this tea is $200 for a 357g cake, which is beyond my personal tea budget, however the 10 gram sample is definitely worth splurging on for a special evening.
Flavors: Caramel, Honey, Umami
