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Another longer morning day, so I picked up something to gaiwan again. Derk, you wanted another opinion so here it is and TY for sample.

Unfortunately, I had to make it stronger than usual, 8 grams for 85 ml gaiwan. Maybe has got my gaiwan bigger volume, but this is usual volume I get when it tea is broken. Preheated gaiwan, 15 seconds rinse with freshly boiled water.

1st steep; 20 seconds:
Dry tea reminds me dates, while wet leaf smell familiar, though I am not sure what is it. Maybe bit birch wood in Finnish sauna. It is broking quite quickly. Colour of the liquor is quite brown with red notes. Lily flowers, as they are light are coming to mug too. Taste is some generic pu-erh, maybe bit salty? But it is smooth.

2nd steep, 15 seconds:
The tea is dark, opaque, thick. Aroma is soil. I am not good in naming different soils so just soil :). In taste it became bit alkaline, metalic. Unfortunately not tasty for me. Let´s see another steeps.

3rd, 20 seconds:
Still dark and opaque. Aroma did not changed at all. I like more the wet leaf aroma than liquor aroma. Wet leaf really reminds me birch wood. It tastes really metallic, though now it is bit weaker and hopefully smoother. I think I prefer more sweet ones. Or fruity.

4th, 30 seconds.
Colour still same, aroma changes bit to wet leaf (so birch), but still some metallic and/or soil. Taste changed to more chocolate, wood. Definitely sweeter than previous. Much better now. I tried to search something about the taro flavour, but I am not much clever from descriptions, so I am keeping it simple.

5th, 30 seconds.
The liquor is clearing, red notes of colour are starting to dominate.
Aroma of birch is again bit stronger, and it starts to appear in taste. More woody flavours, with metallic aftertaste. But certainly better than first few steeps. No signs of dying.

6th, 40 seconds.
Colour is really clear (compared to first brews), dark red as some hibiscus teas. Aroma is strongly woody, pleasant. Flavour is wet wood with bit of soil aftertaste.

7th, 50 seconds
Yup, it is clear. And red. Maybe dark copper. Certainly woody in matter of scents and flavours. Those last brews are certainly more lovely than first ones. Still somehow not so perfect.

8th, 1 minute
My thermos is running out. Maybe I will make another. Anyway, one minute steep!
Okay, this is running weak. So no another thermos. Colour is red-brown. Taste is same, but quite weak. I will try 1 minute 15 seconds next steep. Or 30 seconds extra? I dunno.

9th, 1 minute 30 seconds.
Quite light liquor, bit more orange. Somehow reasonable, but it is gone I guess. In thermos I have water for last cup. Just in time I guess. It is really like branches brew. Really woody, I do not recognize anything else.

10th, probably over 2 minutes.
The lily flowers are very pretty. Some of them are expanded fully, maybe they are making the flavour notes? Who knows; I do not. Liquor is light orange, clear. Aroma is more floral, so does taste. But somehow boring.

So, 10 steeps, while it changed from very soil taste to floral through wooden notes. Generally, I do not liked it so much, it was really muddy and alkaline. Then it changes to wood; but still it was not so pleasant. I enjoyed much more the wet leaf aromas than taste of all 10 steeps. Anyway, it was nice to try, but it does not became my favourite tea. Maybe it is hard to compare with puerh I had from Crimson Lotus Tea last time; as this is not just pu-erh vendor. There were not any really unpleasant flavours and aromas; but not my cup of tea. Maybe too “dirty” for me.