2007 Lincang "Te Ji Grade" Loose Ripe Puerh Tea

Brewed this up yesterday when I was in a hurry so it didn’t get brewed gongfu style. This morning I had more time. This tea starts out bittersweet in the early infusions and with a fair amount of fermentation flavor. The bitter taste lasted about two infusions. The fermentation taste a little longer. Not sure if I would say this tea developed chocolate flavor but it’s not out of bounds. It definitely was sweet in the end. It is a nice ripe at an excellent price. It’s only $9 per 100g. That is an excellent price for a good tea. I would venture to say it is almost as good as the loose ripe from Mandala but not quite. It is much cheaper. I brewed this eight times and had I wanted to continue I’m sure I would have gotten four or five more steeps out of it but I was brewing in a big gaiwan.

I steeped this eight times in a 220ml gaiwan with 13g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec. With all of this I have drank I am now awake.