Shancheng

I instantly fell for this pu’er when I smelled its baker’s chocolate depth, richness, and allure. Where many cakes usually need some airing out to let some of the “duiwei” to dissipate, this one didn’t seem to have much of any at all or that which it did have only blended nicely with its overall medley of aromas. The first sampling of the cake was good enough – See more at: http://universotea.com/content/2012-chengshan-golden-peacock?ovr=1#sthash.FdV57MeJ.dpuf

So I know nothing about this tea, and the box it came in isn’t very helpful. Most of the info is in Chinese and there’s very little info. But I figured, for $4 for a 100g tuo, it was worth a try. I’ve only sampled a few different puerhs, so I haven’t developed much of a palate for them yet.

I broke off about a teaspoon worth of tea, did a quick rinse and brewed it in 8oz of boiling water for 30 seconds. The liquor is a medium brown and not quite opaque.

This smells earthy, a bit musty, with a fragrance that I think is fermentation – it’s a smell I associate with puerh and to me it smells like dark brown, but I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone else.

On the palate this is not bad. Very dry, no astringency, hints of bitterness, earth taste and already a hint of that puerh tingle. Not too complex at first, but there’s a richness developing in the back of my mouth that makes me think of coffee, chocolate and maybe raisins? There’s something vaguely red wine about this. The finish is very long – I think it’s going to fade out and then long after I’ve swallowed my sip, suddenly there’s an herbal note that pops up for a moment.

I’ll have to try steeping this gong fu style soon, and then maybe put this away to age for a while and see how it develops.