2018 Flapjacks Ripe Puer

This was a bit of a steep fail but it still tasted good so I guess it wasn’t too tragic. I started gongfu style in a glass mug with glass infuser, only filling the mug to the bottom of the handle. After 2-3 steeps I realized I didn’t have the attention span for gongfu and filled the mug all the way for semi-grandpa-style (leaves still in the infuser but leaving it in the mug until I wanted a drink…not especially convenient but it works and it seemed less messy than scooping the leaves out of the infuser and directly into the mug). It was a great plan until I got distracted shopping for birthday presents for my nieces and let the tea go completely cold. Despite my mistreatment the tea was smooth and delicious. It’s mild but not really boring, and slightly sweet. It’s not one of those mud and soggy leaves ripes. Dry it smelled kind of like an instant soup powder or something savory like that but I didn’t taste that in the brewed tea. Maybe it’s just the thought of flapjacks but now and then I got a whiff of something like pancake syrup or caramel sauce. I don’t usually like cold tea unless it’s an iced latte but I didn’t mind Flapjacks cold. It might be a good option during the summer when I really want tea but it’s too hot. My ripe tea bin is overflowing right now but I’d consider reordering this one once I’ve drunk down my stash a bit. The cute little mini tongs don’t take up much room compared to pouches of tea and full-size cakes so it shouldn’t take too long to find room for more.

Back to back Flapjacks, this time a shou cookie instead of a sheng wafer. Brought to my cupboard by Kawaii433.

My experience was strikingly similar to BrewWhatThouWilt’s, who gave this tea more justice than I could: https://steepster.com/BrewWhatThouWilt/posts/388193#likes

Dry cookie smells like brownies with walnuts, caramel, mushroom, grain.

Good body and initially oily. Savory — so much walnut, brown mushroom broth, cooked grains, rainforest floor, wet wood. Thin mineral sweetness, light bitterness. Nutritional yeast and slight wet pile show up when it starts thinning out. The aroma is similar but I also pick up on hints of spearmint, coriander seed-citrus and spicy wood.

Kind, good quality shou for anybody who doesn’t mind the lack of overt sweetness or even prefers such.

7g/100ml

Dry leaf appearance – medium-small, wispy leaves, relatively light compression. I’m far from an expert, but it doesn’t look as highly fermented as some ripes either. The leaves are still well-defined and “alive” looking.

Dry leaf smell – date syrup, maple syrup, forest floor in spring, raisins, rye bread, brownies/blondies

Wet leaf smell – cinnamon bun with caramel and pecans, hazelnuts, Nutella, buttery brownie batter, cookies and cream, the slightest hint of coconut

Liquor – a tiny bit cloudy; deep dark with a beautiful brandy-ish red undertone

Texture – quite thick and pretty soft, yet there is an edge to the softness. It’s not quite snappy going down, but it still makes its presence known.

Taste – the earthiness really comes out in the flavour, but it is tempered by a light sweetness that tastes a tiny bit like candied pecans to me; an interesting interplay between sweetness and bitterness

Empty cup – a tropical rainforest smell with a hint of wet pile smell leftover (I didn’t really notice it throughout the drinking process other than this, but for some reason I seem to be immune to it most of the time.)

Mouth finish – it leaves a thick coating on the tongue and palate with a pleasant bittersweet taste that brings a slight increase of saliva production

Wet leaves – of all the different mini-cakes, this one seems to separate the most easily, and it is mostly nice, full, healthy looking leaves. Though I don’t really know what I’m talking about, I stand by the earlier statements I made in the dry leaf section.

Body feel – this tea has a very light, chill energy, which makes it a great morning tea, because who wants to get slapped in the face with an overpowering with first thing in the morning?

All in all, this is a solid shou, though I admittedly prefer others like Waffles and Smoove Cocoa. It’s the least sweet of the three, so it’s probably better for those who prefer a bit more bitterness in their ripes. Either way, it’s worth a try, and I am a huge fan of all the W2T mini cakes. They are perfect for travelling teaheads.

I really like these small fellows
Ripe one got a nice sweetness and no wet pile taste

Each flapjack is roughly 7 grams, with 7 flapjacks in each short stack. Although the wet leaves smelled of earth and wet wood, it was deceiving because the first infusion was more light chocolate with a subtle sweetness. Then kaboom, on the 2nd infusion, it fully opened up, super dark espresso colored liquor with much stronger flavors of more earth, slight bitterness, and a little dark chocolate. On the 3rd, I got mushrooms, stronger earth, but bitterness dissipated completely by the 4th.

By the 6th infusion on, it was a lighter color liquor, medium amber, and it transformed in a more mellow, but earthy, daily tea type. The sweetness, maybe vanilla, and chocolate no longer hidden, it came back. Milky, smooth, creamy, with subdued almost absent fermentation flavors. The 9th infusion was especially chocolate-like, reminded me of the chocolate covered coffee beans. 10th on similar. I liked it so much better after the 5th infusion.

7g, 110ml, rinse, 13 steeps: 5s, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 35s, 40s, 45s, 50s, 55s, 60s, 65s