I go a total of 6 or 7 steeps out of the da hong pao. I think I made one error early on that, when corrected next time will result in better cups, and more of them.
So, it has been quite a while since I have had this pu-erh.
And I have never done short steeps with this tea.
The dry leaf is richly loamy to the nose. The wet leaf is like a freshly plowed field (not fertilized ;-)
1st ~ The liqueur is actually amber in color and the flavor is much more “open” than what I would get in the past with much longer steeps. The profile itself is the same, just presented in a different manner.
2nd ~ This steep is already black as night and the brew is that heady, thick, earthy cave that surrounds you. Shu may be a cheap imitation to some people, but I will always love it for what it is, not what it is not. I can already feel my Yi awakening.
3rd ~ Off to the races. Complex, mellow, warming, a hint of sharpness lingers on the tongue after swallowing.
Lots more steeps to follow, clearly.
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“love it for what it is, not what it is not”, excellent words that should be applied to all kinds of tea.
True. Although I think it is especially important with pu-erh. There are people who get so into the serious nature of the process of this tea that they can begin to think of shu as a pale shadow rather than simply letting it be shu. I don’t find very many similarities between the two and see it more as a mimicry of process than a mimicry of results in a cup, so I don’t quite understand the compulsion to degrade shu because it doesn’t taste like sheng.
Well said….
“love it for what it is, not what it is not”, excellent words that should be applied to all kinds of tea.
True. Although I think it is especially important with pu-erh. There are people who get so into the serious nature of the process of this tea that they can begin to think of shu as a pale shadow rather than simply letting it be shu. I don’t find very many similarities between the two and see it more as a mimicry of process than a mimicry of results in a cup, so I don’t quite understand the compulsion to degrade shu because it doesn’t taste like sheng.
Well said….