Finally got to this one—have been on a tasting kick this week. I read another review comparing this one to berries and chocolate—and I agree, the dark leaves have a unique scent that is reminiscent of raspberries and dark chocolate. The leaves are also a very surprising deep purple-black when dried, and purple-green when wetted. I’ll edit again to put a link to photos on my web site shortly to show what I mean.
The tea itself does fulfill the expectation of berry in a deeply tart fruitiness. The chocolate, however, does not come through. I understand the difficulty Greg had writing the description because this is not a typical puerh. But while the first infusions can be a bit tricky—there’s some bitterness to work around, and the next time I might start it with slightly cooler water—the later infusions, as it fades towards sweet water—keep that berry and sweetness delightfully. A very nice tea.
Should have added: steeps were flash rinse, then 10 seconds apiece for a good while before increasing to 20", 30", eventually a minute or so.
Dry leaves
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/5992938178/in/photostream/
Wet leaves
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/5992938764/in/photostream/
