I’m not sure if I’ve written the name right for this tea, as I can’t find it on the website and I’m going on the handwritten tag on the sample here.
This sheng is produced in Thailand, not Yunnan, and will be the first sheng I’ve tried from Thailand, so I’m eager. The dry leaves in a preheated gongfu pot smell like wood smoke, wood, and a bit of must. After an initial infusion, there’s a bit of dried fruit and leather in the scent. I am still somewhat new to Puer so I often taste the rinse infusion just to see what it’s like (while many discard it, especially with aged sheng and shou). I am going to skip my impressions of the rinse because I think this tea is better after the rinse, so skipping the rinse, the first drinking infusion is a light amber with a thick mouthfeel. It mostly tastes like dried fruit, maybe Medjool dates and golden raisins, also wood, and there is a hint of pepper in the aftertaste.
Second infusion , more woody and leather notes and a more woody, peppery finish.
Third infusion is a good medley of all the flavors mentioned so far.
This sheng is enjoyable. It’s more on the peppery and woody side than what suits my tastes, but I think the quality is good.
Flavors: Dried Fruit, Musty, Pepper, Wood