Camel's Breath

This tastes a lot better than it sounds, though I confess I have never gotten up close and personal with a camel. :)

see previous notes for more info.

An OK mini tuocha, it can be steeped multiple times and it doesn’t go bitter. You can get better puerh for just a bit more. Compared to the ‘Original’ Camel’s Breath form Phoenix Collection is nothing but the shadow of the original.

I brewed this up this morning for the monthly prompt “drink a pu’erh tea.” I bought these back in 2018 at a co-op Derk told me about located in San Francisco, on a trip to visit my friend Todd.

I’m just not hugely a fan of mini tuo shou… so far all that I’ve tried have pretty much tasted the same to me. It’s not bad, but not really my thing, either. I used a whole mini tuo in 12 oz. of 205F water and let it steep somewhere between 5-10 minutes. There is a bit of that “marsh water” flavor I’ve never been fond of, but it leans more mineral and smooths it out a bit into more of a petrichor note, which I find more appealing. The expected dank, wet earthiness is present, and just a hint of a peppery smoke.

Brewed my last mini tuo of this grandpa style in a 16oz mug. I think I got 3 refills on top of the original pour. Good strength for 4.5g of shou.

This reminded me a lot of a freebie no-name mini tuo I picked up from the SF Tea Fest, offered by Imperial Tea Court. This one, though, was a different shape: classic birds nest vs the flat puck from ITC. I bought a small handful of these Camel’s Breath from bulk tea section at the co-op.

Dark, smooth, oily and briny, lots of leather and barnyard. There was a distinct finish to this tea, something almost gamey-musky or cheese-like in taste. Sounds gross but it complemented the brininess very well. I feel like I should be working in a horse barn at the edge of coastal cliffs when I drink this. Spent material reveals no fannings only finely chopped leaf. Daily drinker type of tea.

Happy Chinese New Year all. :D

Classic aromas, classic taste. Interesting name. I like it lol.

It has a super dark liquor, thick and almost looks like black syrup. The taste though was surprisingly mellow although rich, full-bodied. I was apprehensive at first looking at it. It’s smooth, earthy, mushrooms, little sweetness, typical fermentation notes, light leather. No fishiness, no bitterness. Lots of flavor throughout, no serious change in notes from steep to steep, just steady and pleasant… But am stopping here, for now, it’s 2 a.m. hehe

Daily drinker.

Yixing gaiwan, mini tuocha, 212°F, 110ml, rinsed twice, 6 steeps: 5s, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 35s

Thank you Derk! :D

Produces a very rich dark liquor with a smooth mouthfeel. There’s a lot going on in the flavor of this Pu-er. Almost too much I think. I have a hard time picking out anything unique about this tea, other than it has that usual “barnyard” smell. Flavor is roasty and smooth. I’ve accidentally let this tea brew for over an hour, and it never got bitter. I find that it doesn’t rebrew all that well, not because of bitterness issues, but it’s hard to get a similar strong flavor that comes with the first brew.