Could use a little bit of pu'erh help

The bite should have subsided a bunch. It may have a slight mushroom note but it should be leaning more towards a bittersweet chocolate or a date note. It will not have notes like young sheng has. It will be on the different part of the spectrum.

Hard to say but I would imagine it having a bit of the fermentation flavor due to age and earthiness that is common in a lot of Gong Ting grade teas. Bitterness shouldn’t be an issue if it’s brewed correctly.

Ripe puerh is usually not astringent. I have tried that line of mini cakes, don’t remember which years. I remember liking it but don’t remember if there was any real bitterness to it. There should be a few reviews for that mini cake on Steepster if you look it up.

I drank one of these cakes a year or two ago. Not quite sure what YS was referring to with the “bite.” It certainly doesn’t have any bitterness, smokiness, etc. I remember it being particularly smooth and earthy-sweet. Lots of cereal (cream of wheat) notes. If you brew it hard and heavy, you may get a cacao “bite” to it. Sometimes, depending on your palate, you may pick up on a very slight bourbon-like note. Maybe that’s the bite.

In any event, I would absolutely recommend this cake to anyone looking for a good ripe experience.

Thank you for all your help guys! I’ll try ordering this one then.

Personally I wouldn’t worry too much about the age or puerh if they are already ripe.
I can’t comment at all on the tea cake you asked about, but I know this tuo is very good: http://yunnansourcing.com/en/xiaguan-tea-factory/3711-2010-xiaguan-ft-xiao-fa-tuo-aged-ripe-pu-erh-tea-tuo-in-box.html
Its about the same price and from 2010, so even older. I really like this tea and I order them whenever I run out, regardless of the year of production, as long as they are ripe and below $10 per 100g.

I recently finished drinking one of those. Do not worry about “bite.”

This is well-crafted shu puer that practically cannot be oversteeped.