2006 Fengqing Raw Pu-erh Tea Tuocha 100g

Heavy and spicy, astingent and smoky with a light bitterness.
(Just had a small sample, so one session only)

Thank you Teavivre for this sample. This tea makes me say ha cha cha cha! A number of people have reviewed this tea, but I think it has continued to improve in the last couple of years. This sheng pu-erh recently passed a decade in age. Even at 11 years old, this sheng still has a somewhat green tea character. After a rinse, the leaves give off a fresh green tea smell. I can’t say I recall any smokey character to the tea, though I had read older reviews where smoke was detected. Maybe the smoke has mellowed out of the tea. I did this sheng pu-erh gong fu style with a couple of rinses sacrificed. I’m not a sheng pu-erh expert by any means, but this tea did offer some notes I think most people associate with shengs. Initial infusions were sweet, hay/grass green, and a little bitter. Later steeps introduced a distinct sour note. When I licked my lips a few seconds after a sip, I was surprised by just how sour it “felt” on my tongue. There was a bit of earthiness in the tea early on, but it was light, and it did not last long. I kept drinking this tea all day. Infusions grew mild, but always remained sweet and bitterness subsided. I experienced no astringency in this tea. The bitterness that was present was in balance with the tea. A few years back, I couldn’t imagine myself enjoying a tea with bitterness, but it works in these sheng pu-erhs. Initially, this tea packed a punch. It’ll wake you up and give your system a buzz.

I’m in one of my comparatively rare raw pu’erh moods today, so I pulled this one out to start the work day with. I gave the leaves a 1 minute rinse, and then went back for a first infusion of 1 minute in boiling water. The tuocha comes apart completely in the first steep, despite seeming initially hard and very compact. The leaves are a medium brown in colour and quite large, the scent very heavily spicy with an edge of raw wood.

To taste, the first infusion is quite potent. There’s an initial smokiness that lingers well into the aftertaste, quite a heavy bitterness, but also a touch of fruitiness that’s very juicy, reminiscent of stone fruit generally and apricot specifically. It’s an interesting combination of flavours, but it seems to work in an odd way. It’s a touch astringent after a few sips, and leaves me feeling a bit dry-mouthed.

I went for a slightly shorter second steep – 40 seconds – to try and combat some of the astringency. It’s worked to a certain extent (there are still hints of it at the end of each sip), but the overall flavour is also less. The second steep is a little smoother, with less juicy fruitiness and a little more woodiness. The smokiness has faded a little, but is still lurking in the background. I can taste a more savoury, mushroom-like flavour this time that wasn’t there before.

Third steep for 40 seconds in boiling water. I’m probably going to stop with this infusion, because I’m not really feeling this one. The flavours are okay – and they work, even though they probably shouldn’t – but the astringency and the dry mouth are too much for a work day when I’m talking a lot on the phone and need to feel hydrated. I have another sample sachet of this one, so I’ll be trying it again at some point in the future. It’s not over until its over.

Rinsed one time for 20 sec, then did several steeps around 20-30 sec.
A bit smoked at first, little bitter and not much sweetness.

After the 5-6 steep it revealed its sweetness and the smoke was just present by a tiny bit.
Got sweeter and sweeter, and i steeped it longer and longer…10 steep i guess i was around 40-60 sec.

Very nice tea…

this tea is really tasty if 10g is used in a cup strainer in a 250 ml cup for 7 minutes! the bitterness is actually tasty

Thank you Teavivre for these beautiful samples. This Sheng is relatively dark brown with little bits of silver and gold buds. The aroma was intoxicating. I let it rest out for a small amount of time and the scent became stronger. I noted that it hadn’t been aged completely properly but that was not a problem. Upon brewing it was a golden pale stew. The liquor was sweet smelling with a hint of smoke. I was able to steep 12 times before I had to leave my home. I know it would have been able to be steeped more and more. I am always a Sheng fan and Teavivre will help me to continue being one.

Having a little sheng tonight. I thought the first few steeps with a little harsh/bitter but it did mellow out in later steeps. This one is a little bit too green for me. I don’t think this is bad, just not really to my tastes.
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I had an afternoon session with this tea. Work at home days are good for Sheng sessions! This tuocha is so darn compressed though! You really gotta be aggressive! ;) It has a nice orange liquor color, and tastes a bit of smoke and fruit. I quite like it. I got super energized by it and very productive, but then felt kinda sick. Oops! Maybe I need some Shou tonight.

Backlog:

A very lovely Pu-erh. A well-defined first infusion that delivered sweetness, vegetation, wood and earth (mushroom-y earth flavor). I also picked up on notes of stone fruit.

The tea became stronger and the flavor deeper with subsequent infusions. An amazing sweetness, lovely fruit notes with hints of grapefruit, and woodsy tones. A vegetal note that reminds me of a green tea. The sweetness is like sugarcane! Lovely!

here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/08/02/2006-fengqing-raw-pu-erh-tea-tuocha-from-teavivre/

Crafting the Tea Advent Calenders officially starts today, since yesterday was the final day of gathering supplies. The total amount of calenders I am making this year is 13, that is a ton of origami envelopes to fold, but I am up to the challenge. I estimate that it will take me about a week to cut all the paper and fold them, of course I won’t be doing much of anything else recreational while I am working on it. I am excited for it, but I am a bit of an origami addict.

Giving the leaves a brief rinsing and steeping, the now quite soggy leaves smell of wet hay, cooked spinach, camphor, and a bit of a barnyard finish. The liquid is quite sweet, a mix of fresh hay, sugar cane, and camphor. I am really digging the camphor notes, you just don’t run into that often so it is a treat.

The first steep is delicious! It starts of sweet like sucking the juice straight out of a sugar cane. This transitions to a slightly sour taste and a cooling mouthfeel with a finishing zing of camphor. The end of the sip is fresh hay and a cooling sensation that lingers. I think I should drink this when I have a cold, because it feels so clearing to my chest.

For the second steep the aroma is still very sweet, with notes of sugar cane, hay and that oh so invigorating camphor. I want everyone to know that why I am writing this, I am also painting my miniatures, tea and painting go together really well. The taste of this steep starts out with the sour note, which immediately causes a salivary effect making the tea sugar cane sweet. There is a cooling sensation that lasts until right before the end, at which there is a slight bitterness that fades into a sweet aftertaste.

Third time around the aroma is more fresh hay and sweet, with only a hint of camphor at the finish. The taste is intensely sweet and causing so much of a sour salivary mouth response, I love it, this might be one of my favorite things about Sheng Pu Erh. I have noticed that Sheng Pu Erh that has this mouth response and cooling sensation that I do not have any stomach problems, so that is awesome! The finish of this tea is now dry and somewhat bitter. I tried to go for a fourth steep and was greeted with a sweet explosion that immediately turned to intense bitter. I imagine that a more advanced sipper of Sheng could push through this to discover even more epic sweetness and flavor notes, but I am still learning the art of the raw pu erh.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/09/teavivre-2006-fengqing-raw-pu-erh-tea.html