2019 Hua Zhuan Cha 花砖茶

Purchased from Teapals, for (after factoring in shipping) $116 or roughly 12c/g. With that said, the compression is such that it takes quite a bit of effort to separate. PVC cutters did not work like for a different fu brick I purchased and I had one heck of a time prying it apart. Eventually had to ask someone with a chisel and hammer to help break it into chunks.

Have had this in a variety of formats, from simmering over stove top and thermos (more iffy), to mug and lazy gongfu (big pot). Thermos and simmering bring out medicinal notes that straddle the line for bitter, but not quite. Mug/grandpa and gongfu it tastes like YQH QiXiang, and maybe even outshines the Qixiang (at least mine purchased from YQH two years ago) in complexity. Sometimes a little pepper and herbaceous notes.

Feeling is a little heady, and not particularly caffeinating for me. That said, I found when I drank it too late in the evening, I would have nightmares. So there is probably some level of caffeine. Not enough to be disruptive to falling/staying sleep or to be alerting for work, but enough to impact REM sleep cycles.