2006 12 Gentlemen, Tian Xiang Yin Raw Puerh

I got this as a sample a long time ago and never opened it. Now it is part of my continuing pu-erh adventures.

The leaves in the packet smell earthier than those of the other shengs I’ve had recently. A little roasted, slightly smoky even.

I used boiling water, rinsed and let the leaves sit for 15+ minutes before steeping in the gaiwan at 5/5/7/7/10/10/20/30/40/60

It’s pretty late in the day for me to be having caffeine, so I’m feeling a little internal pressure to finish up the day’s tasting. I’m also feeling as though by the steep note taking isn’t really necessary for the reasons I mentioned in the Bana Orchid Charm note, namely that I’m not noticing a lot of change from steep to steep. I had expected more in general, but that’s not what I’m tending to get. Maybe I’m doing something wrong?

This tea starts pale yellow and becomes golden in color with later steeps, similar to the others I’ve tasted recently. Its aroma and flavor are subtly different — rounder somehow, richer. Not so much linen/flax as sweet tobacco and cocoa. Duskier but still smooth.

Middle steeps made me think of pralines — sugary-nutty.

Another general note. I expected the shengs I have to taste more different from each other than they do, but so far they’ve all been very similar. I might like one a little better than another but really, it feels like splitting hairs.

Maybe my palate isn’t developed enough yet.