‘Tis the weekend, and I decided I want to have many pu’erh sessions today, so I chose a tuocha for this task. It freezing rained here last night so the roads are a skating rink, therefore I am staying inside all day. Oh, and I’ll be worrying away about the bf, who got called out to work 3 days early and is currently in a cab on the terrible roads heading to the airport. Hope he makes it there in one piece! :(
Anyways, back to this tea! I am guessing this is the same sample I had as Tealizzy, as it is similar to the 2011 Lao Cang tu on Mandala’s site, but just brown writing rather than multi colored. I can’t find a year on mine, but at least it is a Lao Cang! So I did a 15s rinse and I bit the bullet and did a 1 minute steep as recommended. I always worry it will be too strong haha. The tea is super dark, and unfortunately I am writing this review as the cup has already cooled, so there isn’t much of a scent, just a clean, light smell.
As for the flavor, this is a satisfying pu’erh. It’s not crazy caramelly or bright or musty or woody like others, it’s a bit nondescript, but definitely not difficult to drink. It is SUPER smooth, a tiny bit savoury, a bit of a mushroom savouriness actually. There is a mild brown sugar note blending in nicely too, and a bit of a hay aftertaste. It’s tough to describe because there aren’t any stand out flavors, but it is just good. Quite good actually! My stomach also feels wonderful, and I have a sleepy calmness about me, not strong cha qi, just a light calming sensation.
Overall, to me this is a really good tuocha, even if it is not overly distinct. I like that even with the minute steep, it is smooth and soft, not overbearing, not too strong, and no caffeine jitters. This will be a perfect one to steep throughout the day! And don’t let my mention of it not being distinctive scare you off. I enjoy that it is just a lovely, smooth flavor, with everything blending together into an excellent tea.
ETA – I have also made a big decision…I am going to re-season my yixing pot. I hardly ever drink oolong anymore mostly due to the caffeine effects, so I am seasoning it with Noble Mark, a shu that I have enjoyed for a while now and doesnt give me negative caffeine effects. In hindsite, I definitely should have waited until I was further into the tea scene before seasoning a yixing, but I adore the shape of this one and it truly is my most beautiful piece of teaware. I realize this may not work with my yixing, but it will be better than it sitting in the cupboard forlornly while I brew my shus in a gaiwan lol. It needs to be used! Wish me luck :)
