So I ended up buying a cake of this tea (at US$76! so funny to look back at my notes and complain that it was expensive at US$60+) and I’ve drunk / given away 100g of it already but realised I never did a proper review with tasting notes. Brewed 8g in my 160ml gaiwan with boiling water.
Rinse. Wet leaf smells sweet and musty, like a sweet underground spring. Or clean peat moss. Second rinse: more spicy and herbal notes – savoury, mushrooms. Gorgeous.
1st infusion: Body a bit thin. Flavour is sour and fruity in the silly jade bowl I got as a gift, but not in porcelain mug (curious!). Porcelain mug portion is fuller, tastes savoury and flavourful, even slight bitterness (in a good way).
2nd: Smells of sour plums, mineral-y like pool water / chlorine. Nothing chocolatey about this pu-erh (unlike other ripes like my Elephant Mtn) but sweet and so intoxicating. It just tastes very satisfying.
3rd: I hit it harder, so the liquor is richer and more substantial and now becoming slightly chocolatey – not a sweet caramelly milk chocolate or deep bitter chocolate but the brighter, sour-fruity artisanal chocolate from Madagascar… but still with a rounded creamy fullness at the end. The finish is so satisfying – now one gets more butterscotch and stout notes. Ughhhh love this tea.
4th & 5th infusions: Busy; didn’t record.
The 6th or 7th infusion I let it steep for like 20 minutes to finish off the leaves. Still no bitterness, just a slight astringency. A nice chocolatey stouty richness.
Rating: 90
Flavors: Butterscotch, Creamy, Dark Chocolate, Fruity, Mineral, Musty, Sour
I like this one a lot.