2 Tasting Notes
Method of brewing: gaiwan
Leaf to water ratio: I filled the gaiwan 50% with leaves, the rest water
Temperature: Around 205 degrees farenheit, I let the water just barely come to a boil and then sit for a minute or two.
Rinse: I did a “flash-rinse”, pouring water into the gaiwan and then immediately pouring the water out. I only did one rinse.
Steeps:
I steeped this tea for 20 seconds the first infusion, second infusion, and third infusion. For the fourth infusion, I steeped the tea for 30 seconds. This tea feels like it can go on for 3 or 4 more infusions before it starts to go flat in taste.
Tastes:
The tastes are ordered from most noticeable to least noticeable.
Mouthfeel:
The mouthfeel is as if you drank milk— slightly viscous. It has a slight dehydrating feel, not nearly as bad as coffee but I feel that if I were to drink a lot of this tea I would need to drink a glass of water.
Additional notes:
This tea feels like it would make a good desert-tea, for when you are craving something like chocolate.
Flavors: Cocoa, Cut Grass, Dark Chocolate
Preparation
Background: Recently, I have been trying Pu’erh teas. I am still relatively new to them, however.
Leaves: This appears to be a ripe Pu’erh with slightly green leaves, looking mostly like a typical Pu’erh tea. The leaves are not compressed. There is a mix of large-leaves and small-leaves.
Flavors: Black-tea, Cocoa, Smokey, Autumn leaves
Bitterness: This tea was borderline astringent — just beginning to turn a little bitter.
Brewing method: 1.5 tablespoon in 100 ml gaiwan, ~5 second rinse, 1st steep 20 seconds, 2cnd steep 30 seconds, 3rd steep 40 seconds.
Mouth-feel/Aftertaste: Slightly coated, almost like drinking water but not quite — and it has a pleasant aftertaste of black tea and cocoa.
Review:
This tea is very complex. What immediately jumps out at me is a black-tea type taste, almost like a Darjeeling.
I am glad that I found this tea — I recently prepared another Pu’erh, and it wasn’t my favorite, but now I am excited to try more! I am still thinking about some of the complex flavors, and it is a lot of fun.
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Cocoa, Hay
