I had this last night before bed. I’ll see if I can remember the experience. I was kind of out of it as it was like 2 am. At first, the dry leaf smell was a turn-off. It was so strong of leather and/or earth. I looked at the description again and it said “without overbearing earthiness” so I was highly doubtful at this point. Well, when all is said and done, they pretty much nailed the taste description. In fact, it was a very clean, smooth, mellow medium-bodied cup of ripe pu-erh tea.
It was slightly earthy, woody, some cream, sweetness, slightly malty, no dirt nor too earthy, no fishy notes, full of flavor, silky and warm mouthfeel, well-balanced. Unlike many pu-erhs, it definitely lacks that strong earth, leathery taste, the mustiness. I did not find it fruity, and there were hardly any, if at all, floral notes (at least that I can detect. I think others differed.) and unlike The Shu Fits and the Imperial dark, it wasn’t as chocolatey but more just a well balanced all-around mellow cup of ripe pu-erh tea. A daily drinker for that calming moment of the day. Perhaps a good starter for those new to ripe Pu-erh since it’s so clean as there are zero signs of a poorly processed tea. Any weird odors, odd tastes, muddy cup, sour taste are non-existent. I can find some who like the stronger tastes to find this a little mundane but since I’m still getting used to shou, it suits me well.
5g, 212˚F, 110ml, 7 steeps: rinse, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 35s, 40s
Flavors: Creamy, Earth, Malt, Sweet
