The smell of the dry leaf is powder-coated with the yummy mustiness I associate with aged puerh. Like the smell of fertile soil after a fresh rain.
Aroma of dried plum and cherries, fresh wet lumber, and typical mustiness. The taste is full of lumber, delicious accompanied by a soft must and on another note, dried plum and cherries. Very much like the aroma. The sweetness increases as the temperature cools. After two cups, I'm in a state of mild serenity.
The aroma of aged puerh is so wonderful in and of itself, that it tends to evoke a calm ending to my daily tension through its redolent odor alone. Once I taste it, and delve into my session, that feeling becomes ever more tranquil.
The second steep comes out darker red, with some brown. A much greater taste of lumber, which is my favorite to find in puerh, especially older puerh. This taste might also be described as a tobacco. I used less leaf than normal, hoping to squeeze two sessions out of this wonderfully-smelling tea, yet I find these cups to be very potent, entering my nostrils with a punch.
Third steep migrates back to a dried plum/cherry taste, losing the sharpness and kick that was felt in the nostrils. The dried cherries follow the tea through the subsequent steepings. As a result of my serene puerh-induced mood, anyone who walks by my station gets offered a cup of deep-red 1996 Dayi 7542. This tea isn't amazing, but it'd be a lovely addition to my minuscule stock of old puerh.
5 comments:
What lovely, clean photography. Do you have any idea where Salsero found this one?
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Hobbes, thanks for your compliment. Salsero sourced it from GrandTea.com. They were selling the cakes for $100 (sold out now), and have 15g samples for $6. I also found bings at GenerationTea.com for $150.
Arrivederci
This was part of a 15 gr sample I bought for $3 from GrandTea about a year and a half ago. It was my first aged puerh. The first time I tried it, I hated it and didn't even finish the session. When I tried it again a couple months ago, my experience with pu had deepened enough that I realized what I was drinking and was able to enjoy it.
Still, there's no way I would pay $100 for a bing of it.
Fertile soil.. Nice Wes.. You puhead.. I knew it would!! But you won't here any complaints here buddy!
No complaints as cause of this auspicious day!
Happy Birthday Bill!! Best of wishes!
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