This is an interesting shou. It has a strong fermentation flavor although I don’t get any fishy notes. It also has a strong taste of camphor, very strong. There were notes of camphor even in the twelfth steep. There were also prevalent notes of spice and a lesser note of bamboo. This is not to say there was no sweet taste, but this was not a chocolaty shou. This is without a doubt the strongest camphor tea I can remember drinking. I should also note that despite the name of this tea it is not from Lao Ban Zhang village. In China there is a brand of puerh called BanZhang LaoMan’E. This is that brand. I have heard it is considered a high quality brand but this is my first experience with it.
I steeped this twelve times in an 85ml Yixing Teapot with 7.2g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 min.
Flavors: Bamboo, Camphor, Earth, Spicy, Sweet
