Recommended
I have finally decided to brew this little snack up. I’m going to start off by saying that this is Shou, this is not Sheng! I bought this under the pretense that is was a Sheng Pu-erh. I was just about to pop this in my Yixing pot when my tea senses began tingling. I later discovered that this was Shou. Now I will begin the review.
I open the small rice paper to reveal a perfectly convenient sized Tuo-Cha. The small disc is a dark ruddish brown with small gold flecks. The scent is what set me off that it wasn’t a Sheng (let alone the appearance). This small disc carries a muddid earth scent. I brewed in my gaiwan gong fu style. This small Tuo Cha took about three steepings before it fully opened. The liquor was a beautiful crimson soup! It reminded me of a heavy red wine. I washed the leaves once and brewed in 10 second intervals. The aroma was of wet moss and a dew covered forest floor. The leaves expanded to a bold red to match this liquor. The flavor was thick and headdy. I could note an instant thick earth flavor with undertones of sweet plum. The great thing about this brew is that the flavor was very consistent. The aroma began to remind of a log cabin after a rain storm, as the droplets seep into the fibers of the wood. As the steeping continued the bold earth flavor began to simmer down and it plateaued along with the sweet plum taste. The flavor brought up a taste profile of the canyon lakes in Arizona. I was able to pull multiple steepings (eight) without a single faltering. A problem that occured with this brew is that the leaves were mostly BoP, and that caused the tea to become slightly astringent and bitter. I had success with this tea and enjoyed it greatly. I am usually not a Shou drinker; I am a Sheng fella. This brew though has pushed me a little more towards being balanced with my pu’erh.Flavors: Clay, Smooth, Wet Earth, Wet Moss, Wet Wood
Preparation
Boiling
0 min, 15 sec
6 g
3 OZ / 100 ML
