Thank you Garret! I really enjoyed this one!
This was one of the recent samples I got from my last Mandala Order. Pu-Erh’s were in my budget since there typically cheaper, and I wanted to get one cake, the Noble Mark, as a preemptive hangover strike for my 21st a few months from now next year (it helped my roommate out and I looked up that it helps detox alcohol). I also got it in case the price goes up with age. And I needed something to replace my morning coffee, and for about four bucks per ounce plus free shipping, I decided it was worth getting some, though I’ll drink it more in the winter and next year.
So for this one: I’m still slowly getting over the “pooh” smell in Pu-Erh. It made me hesitate, but I reminded myself that Pu-Erh very rarely tastes like it smells. I was right. I rinsed it twice, first five seconds, then ten. The first 45 second steep brewed something that highly resembled coffee in color, with a little bit more orange and burgundy, or even purple undertones. The taste was like a very smooth black tea, albeit with a dark earth, yet somehow silkier body. There’s some woodsiness that also reminds me of some Wu Yi’s that I’ve had. The second and third steeps were approximately between 45-50 seconds. It somehow got sweeter and more minerals later one, which I started to prefer. There’s some chocolate there, but I almost did not notice it-to me it was much more like a dark chocolate.
The thing that I really liked about this tea was how smooth it was. Astringency was only slightly there, but almost nonexistent. The only bitterness was from the earthiness of the Pu-Erh, but again, it was not so present and yields smooth.
This tea is definitely for a more experienced drinker. My mom is pretty experienced herself and she liked it, but she also had to get past the smell to drink it. NEWBIES BE WARNED. Tea snobs, come loving it.
Flavors: Bitter, Dark Chocolate, Dark Wood, Earth, Smooth
