Big Old Ass Tree 2019 Hekai Raw Puer

Sipdown (283)

So Roswell Strange shared this with me (thank you!) and its a puerh and a non-flavored one at that so I was particularly worried about trying it. I don’t like puerhs so I didn’t have high hopes here. Yet I decided to brew it up yesterday as part of september sipdown.

I decided to use my gaiwan to brew it and full disclosure…I didn’t like it. However, I was incredibly surprised at my reasoning for not liking it because it was not for the usual puerh/muddy/mushroom/dirt/etc. reasons.

I tried really hard to write this note yesterday by the way but could not access the page. Kept getting a 404 error so instead I took very brief jot notes.

When I started drinking this, the first thing I noticed was a very drying floral quality to it. Like potpourri or like when you get something like the tiniest bit of sanitizer or deodorant in your mouth and it has this horrible drying/bitter quality to it. I got that for the first 5 steeps so those mostly got dumped.

At the 6th steep, I noted that it was still floral but the drying aspect was going away . I also thought it was maybe buttery or possibly had a pea note.

My notes for steep 7 are: floral, but better though still not great. Beans and grass. I then wrote “green tea?” since once I got through the more bitter steeps, it started to have straight green tea qualities. I am not a huge fan of straight green teas either but I do prefer them to puerhs so it was weird to be getting those tasting notes here.

Steeps 8-10 were similar to steep 7 but with a fuller body. They were also less floral. The more I steeped, the more I got oolong instead of green tea.

Ultimately, it was fine. I don’t think I would flag it as a puerh based on the flavors I got. In my case, that is a huge compliment. With that said though, it was not really a tea that possessed flavors I would want anyways. As such, I didn’t like it but I liked it more than expected. Is that a success? Who knows…

I’ve never had a Hekai/Pasha/Nannuo tea that I would love and this offering from BLT doesn’t change that. It has a smooth texture and well-balanced profile, but nothing really stands out about it to elevate it above the rest. 

In dry form, the aroma is a mix of floral and fruity notes with a distinctive nectarine scent. After the rinse, I find the smell interesting but also hard to identify. Some weak associations would be gardenia flowers, wet hay, seeds, and garden pond. In the empty cup, there is a mostly creamy scent. In total, the aroma does seem to be quite unique for a sheng, but it didn’t turn out to be very memorable to be honest.

The liquor has a very refreshing, juicy character. There are fruity notes (citrus, green apple), as well as straw, grape vine, and butter flavours. The finish is tart and provides a transition into the mildly spicy and sweet aftertaste.

Gongfu Sipdown (1614)!

I’ve learned from past sessions, so this time around I kept my infusion times short and sweet. I’m not a particularly big fan of pu’erh with a biting bitterness or strong vegetal flavour, so quick steeps definitely serve me better since they have less snap to them. The huigan is pleasant, even with my light handed steeping – and I appreciate that; it keeps me coming back for another infusion. Overall this isn’t something I’ll miss having in my own stash, but I know several people who are big fans of this tea and I can definitely appreciate where their interest comes from! It’s a nice pu’erh even if it’s not quite the one for me…

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbstWBYuz0G/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II15AOoHPMQ&ab_channel=MOTOBANDIT-Topic

Smooth and mild. Woody and mildly bitter. Relaxing qi. I think this tea will open up and offer some rather interesting flavors over the next year. Beer comparison: English mild brewed with Kent Golding hops. As it is now, not a tea that really excites me but I’ve had similar teas that really developed in the following months and have a feeling this may do the same. If I were feeling adventurous I’d gamble on a cake but I have enough of the sample left to revisit in the fall and decide then.