Menghai Golden Buds Tribute Ripened Pu-erh Cake 2009

Thank you Teavivre for sending this sample my way!

I was in the mood for some shu this afternoon and hopefully this caffeine will not keep me awake later… instructions say to brew this at 212 F for 3 to 10 minutes? That seemed like a lot to me.

I decided to dump my whole sample in a little yixing and I have been doing steeps for 30 seconds. This is a very nice shu, has pleasant flavors of coffee, cocoa and a fruitiness like dates. This is a very clean tasting tea, without any musty flavors or odors that would signify a bad tea. The reviews on Teavivre’s web site, a couple of people had different opinions and remarked on the fermentation flavor and a mustiness but I didn’t pick this up.

Lately I’ve been wondering about shu pu’erh as it’s fermented with bacterias which might be good (like probiotics) but also aspergillus niger which is a fungus/mold and one I might be allergic to. Right now I don’t notice any bad effects from drinking shu and I know it is supposed to be healthy… so I will keep drinking it anyway.

This is a very good tea. I would definitely consider buying a cake of it for drinking now.

From the Unflavored TTB.

No yixing teapot of my own, so ceramic it is! 5 second rinse. Steeping times: 10, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 120.

I’m inexperienced with shu pu-erh. So what did I get? Mostly EARTH. All around. The wet leaf aroma, however, also contained gentle notes of plums and grapes. Such a lovely combination! I kept sticking my nose into the bowl.

At first the color of the liquor was copper, which then deepened to dark orange. The intensity of the flavor throughout the session was basically shaped like a percentile graph. The first infusion was light-bodied and a little astringent, and the earth was muted. The second and third infusions were more developed: full-bodied, flavorful with coffee and bitter notes. These notes in subsequent infusions became softer, and inevitably weakened.

I like this. I wish I were more experienced to get more than just earth and coffee. Also, I think I prefer shu to sheng (is that weird?). Mostly for the taste, but especially for the effect. As soon as I finished the first infusion I felt as if this tea were giving me a hug. And then halfway through the session I felt serene yet energetic. Every time I heard the water boil for the next infusion I ran to the sauce pan like a puppy.

“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee I like teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeea”

additional notes:  Fun to revisit this cake that I won ten years ago, AND revisit the tasting note.  Especially since realizing I’m a huge fan of the golden buds puerhs, so I’m appreciating that I won this even more now.  I think I’m steeping it with different parameters —  in the past, I went STRONG.  And because of that AND if I’m using drastically less leaves now, I’m not sure if this puerh may have mellowed a bit.  Less strong chocolate and coffee notes than the previous note.  This is still very delicious.  Originally, I noticed “pond” qualities, but they are not here in the leaf any longer.
Steep #1 // 20 minutes after boiling // 1-2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 18 minutes after boiling //   4-5 min
Steep #3 // just boiled // 3-4 min
Steep #4 // just boiled // 10 min