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This tea arrived about a week and a half ago and has been sitting in my pumidor since then. The cake was darker than I expected for being a 2013 cake and had a deep, sweet scent. It is not as thick as I expected based on the scent but it is very, very smooth. There is no dryness or roughness. When the tea first entered my mouth it had a very strong yiwu and youle soapiness. For a 2013 puerh it is quite dark and has almost no green tea flavor. This puerh is definitely in the savory not sweet category. It has a punch with a strong flavor and huigan. The aftertaste is a long, dark savory puerh flavor. It moistens the mouth while swallowing and has almost a cocoa taste. There is a woody, cork like flavor after about the 8th steeping that starts to dominate the flavor profile. Based on the deep, savory flavors while it is so young I believe it is a tea that will age well, but it is hard to tell at such a young age. Overall it is quite good, and I believe it will only get better in the coming years.

This tea arrived about a week and a half ago and has been sitting in my pumidor since then. The cake was darker than I expected for being a 2013 cake and had a deep, sweet scent. It is not as thick as I expected based on the scent but it is very, very smooth. There is no dryness or roughness. When the tea first entered my mouth it had a very strong yiwu and youle soapiness. For a 2013 puerh it is quite dark and has almost no green tea flavor. This puerh is definitely in the savory not sweet category. It has a punch with a strong flavor and huigan. The aftertaste is a long, dark savory puerh flavor. It moistens the mouth while swallowing and has almost a cocoa taste. There is a woody, cork like flavor after about the 8th steeping that starts to dominate the flavor profile. Based on the deep, savory flavors while it is so young I believe it is a tea that will age well, but it is hard to tell at such a young age. Overall it is quite good, and I believe it will only get better in the coming years.

I just wanted to write this short review as an update on how some teas are responding to the pumidor. I first got this sample and the flavor intrigued me. It had a tobacco base but mainly tasted like spices and peppers. The best way to explain it is that it tasted like spilling every spice in your cupboard in some mole. I bought a couple cakes and when I tasted it, it still had the spicy flavor. According to my inventory app it says I bought the teas on February 7, 2013. Despite only having it for a month and a half a lot of change has taken place. The spicy, peppery flavors have mellowed out some and started turning into the underlying tobacco flavor. I don’t know if it’s because of being in the presence of other teas that aren’t “spicy” or just from sitting in the pumidor environment but it will be interesting to see how the other teas respond

After 2 and a half weeks in 70% humidity I am going to reevaluate this tea. It is still very smooth and moist in your mouth and when you swallow. It has gained a little thickness since I received it. There is a little bit of mushroom flavor, but overall the flavor is very mild. I usually like meaty, in your face puerh and this seems to be a much lighter puerh. I think it has the potential to age into a nice mouthfeel puerh with good qi. It is also good for someone that wants a milder tea to drink immediately. There is still an interesting minty flavor to the tea, but it has a new musty smell on top. As I keep doing more brews, due to the lack of kuwei and strength, I am starting to do longer steeps. There is an interesting, smooth waxy feeling that coats the mouth with longer steeps.

(Sorry for the mix mash of thoughts, I was writing this as I brewed and noticing things which leaded to a very scattered post)

Previous review: I just received this puerh cake, so it is probably a little flat because of the lower humidity and temp during shipping. I have it in my pumidor and will write a more extensive review after a couple weeks in better conditions. The dry tea smells very minty and sweet, almost like a mint tisane mixed in with the puerh. Once brewed it keeps the minty smell but loses the sweetness. It is very smooth and moistens the mouth. It is lacking a little thickness and staying power but that may be because of the shipping flatness. It has a deep tobacco and mushroom flavor, without the smokiness and bitterness of other young puerhs (making it seem a couple years older than it really is) I can’t wait to see how this progresses, and overall it’s a very good tea

I just received this puerh cake, so it is probably a little flat because of the lower humidity and temp during shipping. I have it in my pumidor and will write a more extensive review after a couple weeks in better conditions. The dry tea smells very minty and sweet, almost like a mint tisane mixed in with the puerh. Once brewed it keeps the minty smell but loses the sweetness. It is very smooth and moistens the mouth. It is lacking a little thickness and staying power but that may be because of the shipping flatness. It has a deep tobacco and mushroom flavor, without the smokiness and bitterness of other young puerhs (making it seem a couple years older than it really is) I can’t wait to see how this progresses, and overall it’s a very good tea

I just wanted to write a little note on this tea because I find it extremely interesting every time I drink it. I has a nice woody, mustiness and a good qi but there is 1 particular thing that keeps me coming back. When steeped right it has this very sweet taste and citrusy smell. It just hit me that I know exactly what this flavor is. I’ll probably sound crazy but it tastes like the taco time iced tea lemonade :) In any case it is a very deep, sweet, complex tea and I highly recommend it.

I was surprised at the recommendation to only use 2.5 grams so I tried 3 and it was still too light for me. For this review I used 5 grams in a 120ml gaiwan (I usually use 7 for sheng) and it was much more to my taste.

Smell: This tea has a very strong, assertive smell when it is wet and dry. It has a mustiness all throughout combined with a deep peppery and mushroom aroma. When I close my eyes it smells a lot like a miso soup that someone spilled their pepper shaker in :)

Taste: This tea is one of the few that tastes much like it smells. It is like the broth of a very mushroomy miso soup. It still has the peppery taste and has a very creamy sensation. There is a slight musty flavor that reminds me a bit of a traditionally stored puerh but a lightness and tingling on the end.

Dry leaf: Dark, toasty. Slight greenness like a tgy. Slight burnt smell. Very tightly rolled.

Wet Leaf: A lot of the toasty smells disappear and the aroma turns into a darker tgy smell

Taste: This tea is much like a tgy. It may be slightly darker and the flavor is stronger. There are also less floral notes. Overall a nice oolong, with stronger flavor than some other low fired greens.