I ran into a review of this tea somewhere (not here on Steepster for once…) and though it sounded great. I ordered a cake from Misty Peak, but since Nicholas is an awesome dude, he sent me the cake AND a generously sized sample of the same stuff, so I wouldn’t have to break up the cake to taste the tea.
Anyway, the first steep was prepared as normal, generous leaf in a gaiwan, steeped for 15 seconds in near-boiling water. The resulting tea is really fantastic, with a delightful savory flavor that is very different from any young puerh I’ve ever had. There is none of the harshness that a lot of young sheng’s seem to have, and the tea tastes more like an oxidized tea. Finally, the aftertaste is very pleasant, but nothing too special, merely a normal puerh aftertaste. Regardless, his was a surprisingly good tea, especially when you consider it’s age, and I really can’t wait to see what else it has to offer.
The second steep was prepared with the same temperature water, but only a 7 second steep. The tea is a bit milder, but the big change is that the aftertaste remind me a lot of Verdant’s Mi Lan Xiang Dancong in that it’s really thirst-quenching. What a pleasant surprise, I wonder what else this tea has in store for me…
EDIT – Damng, my session got interryupted by a trek to the post office for a package, then dinner with friends, and now there’s no time left in the day. I’ll pick this up again tomorrow, it’s good enough to merit a few more cups :)
I bought a 2012 Autumn and the 2013 Spring. Highly recommended. And yes, Nicholas is an awesome dude….