Pulled this as my next “daily drinker until gone” package of old tea. Like (most) of my old tea, it still wasn’t opened yet! We got dumped on with the white stuff last night and I just want a simple, warm cuppa this morning.
Very tiny leaf for being full leaf and not CTC! Brewed 3.5g to 350ml 205F water for 3 minutes. Brewed cup has a lovely aroma of subtle barbecue smoke, tangy orange, and molasses, that together make me think of some fancy meat glaze.
Ooo, that is a strong cup of tea! Has a very deep flavor and some astringency, but is surprisingly smooth for how dark of a cup it produces. I get a strong burnt leather and smoke note, with a bit of a malty undertone. Toward the end of the sip, a subtle citrus is present, most close to orange zest. I get sort of a dark molasses and black pepper, thick and sticky coating feeling left afterwards on my tongue. Also, a ghost of a rose note left in the aftertaste, too. Tea is just a bit mouth-drying, now that I’m halfway through the cup.
It’s tasty, and I do like keemuns, but I might try using a little less leaf next time and see if that makes a difference on the astrigent/drying qualities without affecting the flavor too much.
Flavors: Astringent, Burnt, Citrus, Drying, Floral, Leather, Malt, Molasses, Orange Zest, Pepper, Rose, Smoke, Umami
I should steal your idea for having a designated daily drinker… I haven’t been doing so well with drinking my old teas!
All my teas are 2oz. packages and there is just no way I’d get through that much if I didn’t put in that sort of effort.
I’ve been mostly focusing on small packages just to get that number down quickly and give myself some momentum. But I should definitely have at least a cup a day of old, larger teas too!
Yes, small packs make achievable goals! Big cakes of Puer are hopeless, so pile them in the back of the cupboard and pretend you’re aging them—thereby turning hopelessness into victory! Eventually old age turns us ALL into penny-pinchers and we can brag about the well-ripened Pu’erhs we wisely set aside!