2013 MGH 1303 Mangshui Ancient Tree Green Pu-erh Tea Cake 357g

Brews up a medium yellow, mildly bitter and astringent. This tea has flavors of green beans, whiskey, petrichor, herbs, and a fruity bitterness like white grape skins. Nice lingering sweetness and aroma in the mouth. The mouthfeel is a little bit thin, but overall it’s pretty nice and a bargain at it’s current price.

I’ve made a few edits to this note, as the tea has changed and I’m using a higher quality yixing jiang po ni teapot I purchased in Beijing’s Ma Lian Dao (马连道) or “Tea City” this summer (a place I highly recommend).

Over the past 2 years, I’ve noticed more sweet whisky and camphor notes, after having sat for 7 months. I also shortened the steeping time to 10 to 15 seconds and increased water temp to around 95 C.

Dried leaves in a moist teapot actually smell like chocolate, but once brewed have an initial pleasant smokiness that changes into a deep forest aroma that is sweet and herbal.

First steep: Bright yellow liquor. Crisp, medicinal/grassy, faintly flowery, subtly astringent, and with a long smooth finish that is refreshing and leaves a rejuvenating warmth (cha qi) that spreads from the throat to the chest.
*Edit: The cha qi has intensified a lot to the point where I begin to feel tea buzzed.

Second steep: similar to the first steep, only thicker and rich minerals notes. The medicinal/grassy flavors are more pronounced and become savory with a long sweet finish.
*Edit: Stronger, and longer sweet aftertaste. Later steeps are more vegetal than I remembered, but also more camphor-like.

This is basically a robust green tea, but more complex, easier to brew, and has infinite aging potential. All that being said, it’s not for those with weak stomachs, but highly recommended for lovers of sheng!
*Edit: Green notes are gradually replaced with notes of fuji apple and more whisky.

At $23, this is another great bargain at Puerhshop.com. Online blogs and forums like TeaChat have tainted PuerhShop’s reputation for rare instances of questionable authenticity of some of their high-end famous pu’er cakes, but I began my humble collection with their own curated MGH/American Hao cakes and I can confidently say that they those are worth the purchase and they are consistent in quality. I highly recommend overcoming any unfair bias by trying some of their samples. Fast and cheap delivery is another perk.