This cake arrived in the mail dry as a bone and hard as rock. I wanted to do some experimenting with storage and aging without ruining a good/expensive cake. This cake was a cheap buy off of Amazon (don’t judge me!) so I went for it. Plus, you know, two day shipping. Anyway, I did have some the very first day it arrived, and it was just “ok.” I put it in a crock inside my makeshift pumidor, and waited a few weeks. Came back to it tonight. The cake is more fragrant, more pliable, and has definitely improved a bit. I know I should have waited longer, but I was in the mood to try it again so I did. 6g, boiling, gongfu, short steeps. 3 rinses. Earth, peat, wood, mushrooms. Not much sweetness. It’s slightly sour (probably fermentation) in early steeps, but mellows out later. I do know that I will continue to re-visit this tea over the course of several months, and it should be interesting.
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very interesting. let us know the progress
Mine definitely kept getting better over the months after I purchased it. I probably sipped on it for about 6 months and just finished it off recently. About middle-end it turned into one of my favorite shou puerhs. In addition to the flavors you described I got vanilla and cinnamon, and some sweetness. Never completely lost that fermentation flavor but it definitely subsided quite a bit.
Good to know, thanks Brian!
very interesting. let us know the progress
Mine definitely kept getting better over the months after I purchased it. I probably sipped on it for about 6 months and just finished it off recently. About middle-end it turned into one of my favorite shou puerhs. In addition to the flavors you described I got vanilla and cinnamon, and some sweetness. Never completely lost that fermentation flavor but it definitely subsided quite a bit.
Good to know, thanks Brian!