Golden Buds Shu Pu'er Xingyang 2010

Did one rinse of this, probably ought to have done the two, but I like a stronger pu erh so I can add milk and sugar…it is almost like coffee that way. It was quite a dark brew, and quite strong. Maybe I’ll do more rinses and try it sans milk at some point also.

This one comes from CrowKettle from our last meet up. It’s pretty good, but I think I like flavored pu erh more…chocolate and caramel are particularly good combos for this earthy type of tea.

I might try using some of this with saigon chai. I’m itching for a good pu erh chai.

Thanks again for this sample.

Hmmm, dry I’m not getting much from these leaves. Upon opening the bag it just smells a little bit clean. But, boy does that change with hot water. From the moment these touch water the smell is intoxicating and fills the air with the aroma of cinnamon bread dough. The liquor is a dark amber red that matches the richness of the scent. At first sip this tea.. makes my tongue feel a bit numb and tingly? That’s unexpected! Second and third sips are almost overwhelmingly rich and sweet, with a flavor that feels comforting and familiar, but I can’t place it. At the end of the sip there’s a bitterness but not an unpleasant one — a soft, earthy bitterness. It feels like an integrated part of the flavor rather than a mistake of over-steeping.

For the first 3 infusions this tea is incredibly bold, with sips that start sweet with a doughy heft and end with an earthy bitterness. It’s delectable, but it’s like a rich chocolate cheesecake — I can only handle a little bit before I start to feel over-saturated with flavor.

For the last 3 infusions the tea lightens. The flavor isn’t so heavy that it feels like it’s pulling you down into the earth and turns more refreshing and invigorating. The flavor as it first hits my tongue is sweet with spicy notes of cinnamon and maybe a hint of clove. In the finish I can finally taste that sparkling quality that David mentions. Every sip ends so clean.

This was an interesting first experience with Pu-Erh. I feel like there’s this whole other side of tea that I’m just now tasting. I’m glad I tried brewing this tea by the Xingyang workshop recommendations, but I think in the future I might be served better by a brew that isn’t quite so bold.

Trying this today, another shu. This is one of the first pu I tried a while ago and I remember liking it a lot, thinking of earth, leather and a bit of smoke. This aroma is subtler than the Master Han ones and really pleasant.

Did a ten second rinse then a steep at 15 seconds with boiling water. No combining today! There is no bitterness but there is some depth. Not sweet like the 04 shu and not quite the damp earth and woodiness I remember. It’s a bit more bland than my last couple shu but also bolder, if that makes sense. I get something that reminds me of mushrooms here too.

#2: 20 seconds. Dark colour, warm aroma that reminds me of hay but deeper than green tea. This steep has more sweet notes and reminds me of hay bales in taste as well. Very nice and familiar.

#3: 30 seconds. Dark dark dark! Stronger aroma, flavour is a bit muted. I don’t know why my steeps seem to lose strength so quickly. Maybe I’m being under-generous on my leaf. I’m always worried about bitterness so I tend to under-do it on occasion.

Cutting it off here, as usual, as the brothers want the puter back. Interestingly, of the three I’ve had this week I prefer the Master Han 04 the best. It didn’t impress me initially but I find it more interesting to me than this and the Master Han 02. I’ll have to try the 04 again soon and see if that impression holds up.

This tea is sweet and the flavor reminds me of honey graham crackers. I rarely add chrysanthemum to this because I think it’s sweet enough already.

I brewed my last bit of this one today. I’ve been craving pu’er in a big way and I missed it and I have been slacking with the tea brewing. I just did one steep so far and, for some reason, this time the brew is very weak. It’s very lightly woodsy and a bit nutty but a bit bland. I am going to try a longer brew time for my next steep. Maybe the leaves have to open up a bit more.

this is probably the most unremarkable puerh I’ve ever had. I’ve tried it a dozen of times by now each time deciding to store it somewhere that I’d never stumble upon it again. the taste is just that bland… probably this time I will actually do it

I’ve been drinking this on and off at work for about a week.
The official description mentions cinnamon – nope, Brussels sprouts (?!?) – nope – sandalwood incense – nope. And all of those nos makes me really happy.
IMHO and to my tastes, this is a really mild pu’erh. It’s not lacking in over all flavor, it’s just really gentle on the earthy, musty notes that I think of as pu’erh. This is more like an aged black to me. It’s more like a golden buds black with a hint of pu’erh. It’s smooth and gentle, you can steep it for a long time and it just gets deeper and deeper without getting nasty.
For me this is just FANTASTIC. I love it.