This one still needs a couple more years to clear up and lose the funk. Has a nice port smell I’m not tasting in the cup, mostly getting earthy and woody flavors. I’m surprised at how similar this is to 7572, flavor-wise, but more twiggy. A little disappointing a “tribute” cake is this twiggy. But it is early days with this cake, a couple more years and it could be stunning.
I am really grateful for the generous sample, since this cake is now costing $70 from Berylleb. I think this price is 2x too much to pay at this point, but perhaps the cake is getting scarce and that is the reason for the high tag. Paying for the label? But right now I can buy white2tea’s 2014 Lao Cha Tou, same gram weight as a full cake of this tea, for half the price, and a much better cup. Still, that thought won’t stop me from drinking this up.
Flavors: Decayed wood, Earth
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I love this shou! I’m a big fan of Lao Cha Tuo too :)
Makers swear by the twigs, which they say adds to the flavour when aging. The bit about twigs comes up regularly with fu-cha as well. Evidently, there is something in the twigs that assists in the fermentation process. What is your experience?
@ Steph (tou cf tuo)
lol tououous
Twigs and roots must be boiled to extract any flavor beyond what has accumulated on the surface of the twig from other leaves. I say it is BS that they add flavor, they are filler, but most likely it is a cheaper process to include the twigs. If they have to be removed, the only way is by hand, labor intensive and time consuming. Nobody is going to do it. With high grades of tea, these are usually small batch and very expensive and so hand processing for quality is more likely. But factory made tea cakes of chop sold cheap will have the twigs.
I love this shou! I’m a big fan of Lao Cha Tuo too :)
Makers swear by the twigs, which they say adds to the flavour when aging. The bit about twigs comes up regularly with fu-cha as well. Evidently, there is something in the twigs that assists in the fermentation process. What is your experience?
@ Steph (tou cf tuo)
lol tououous
Twigs and roots must be boiled to extract any flavor beyond what has accumulated on the surface of the twig from other leaves. I say it is BS that they add flavor, they are filler, but most likely it is a cheaper process to include the twigs. If they have to be removed, the only way is by hand, labor intensive and time consuming. Nobody is going to do it. With high grades of tea, these are usually small batch and very expensive and so hand processing for quality is more likely. But factory made tea cakes of chop sold cheap will have the twigs.