cnnp(puerhshop)

New set of samples from Puerhshop. Very impressed with this tea given the price point at < $0.10/g. I will definitely be picking up a brick of this after going through the other samples. Fairly mild, calming flavor dominated by wet earth notes.

Mouthfeel is the most fascinating aspect. In the mouth, the tea feels almost sticky. Aftertaste leaves the tongue and hard palate feeling numb as if having chewed on the leaves of Zanthoxylum clava-herculis.

Longevity is >=12 infusions.

This is a very nice aged shou with a little fermentation taste left to it but not much. There was a weak wet storage note that lasted a few steeps. There was a sweet note from the beginning that seemed like a dates note to me. This was quite a good tea.

I brewed this ten times in a 160ml silver teapot with 12.2g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min.

This tea is about average quality and taste in my opinion. It had a strong taste of fermentation. This fermentation taste was a little unpleasant. You would think a 2004 tea would have cleared more. I suppose this could be the victim of very dry storage or not really from 2004. I suppose it could also just have been very heavily fermented initially. It wasn’t bad, it’s just the first few steeps were slightly unpleasant. This is not to say there weren’t any sweet notes. It’s just that this tea was not the gem of a tuocha I’ve been looking for. It also had another note I just didn’t that much like, don’t know how to describe it. In the end this wasn’t a chocolaty shou or a fruity one. Like I say it was just average taste and quality. Can’t give this one a high rating.

I steeped this tea ten times in a 120ml gaiwan with 10g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec,7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min.