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Sirentian drank 2003 Xinghai "Wild Elephant Valley" Aged Ripe Puerh Tea Cake by Xinghai Tea Factory (Yunnan Sourcing)

261 tasting notes

Whoa. The aroma of this tea is almost exactly like that of the old shoe closet in my parent’s house. The smell of leather that is clean, but worn in a humid environment.

The flavour of the tea is smooth, with a bright cacao bitter chocolate flavour.

Not so good with milk. Doesn’t pair so well with savoury food or sweet fruit (lychee), but I might try it with desserts in future.

While I can see how some people would love this tea, especially those looking for a more “aged” and distinguished pu er, I think I’m still too early in my pu er journey to be able to appreciate this and it doesn’t quite fit into my lifestyle.

Rating: 65

Flavors: Cacao, Dark Bittersweet, Leather

Preparation

Boiling

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Amateur tea enthusiast here. I told myself I would start with studying Chinese teas when I first encountered good tea at Song Tea in San Francisco in 2016, and it’s now 2023 and I feel like I’m still just beginning to scratch the surface of Chinese teas.

Maybe someday I will move on to Indian, Japanese, Korean, etc. teas…

For my day job I work in tech as well as write some fiction on the side.

The next step in my tea journey is to start training my nose with an aroma kit to get a more precise handle on floral notes.

My Tea Rating Scale: (adapted from @benmw)
100 : Unforgettable, life-changing tea experience.
95–99: Extraordinary – Beyond impressive.
90–94: Impressive – Deep complexity, extreme clarity, or unexpected discovery of wonderful flavor. Made me reconsider the category. Would always want to drink this if I had the chance.
80–89: Delicious – Nuanced, balanced, clear, and complex layering of flavors. Would probably buy this tea again.
70–79: Very Good – Nuanced flavors, perhaps not as balanced or complex as the next step up, but clear and very enjoyable. Would consider buying again if the price was right.
60–69: Good – Clear flavors, representative of the category, but doesn’t set a standard. Good as an everyday tea. Would not buy unless desperate (e.g. when travelling without access to better tea).
50–59: Average. Would not pay money for this, but would drink if it was provided FOC.
30–49: Below Average. Would not drink this again even if it were free.
0–29: Undrinkable. Could not even finish the cup.

Location

Singapore

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