This is a 200g cake I got from Angelina’s a while back. Entire cake was $11 so I wasn’t expecting a whole lot.
The tea is stored in Xishuangbanna, which is humid so I think this means wet storage. It would be interesting to do a side by side comparison of the tea with one that was dry stored.
The cake is beautiful but one thing I noticed right away was how easily the cake breaks apart just using my hands. That’s a sharp contrast to other teas I have that need to be pried open with a puer pick.
The flavor of tea is definitely earthy. There is also a slight bitterness in the finish that reminds me of tobacco, and that finish is present in the aroma as well. It doesn’t have much of a fermentation odor but the flavor also seems a bit muddy and flat.
It started to improve at steep #4 and brought out some of the creamy notes that were promised, and became less bitter overall. Even so, I think it has a bit of a muddy aftertaste but it’s hard to argue with $11.
I’d recommend this is you were looking for a cheap bargain but it isn’t sending me to the heavens with the flavor. I think it will be an ok everyday drinker and I’ll probably keep drinking it when I’m not in the mood for anything fancy.
