Puerh 2010 Hong Jing Tian 100 yr old trees China

This was my last tea yesterday and while dexter was awesome enough to send me two of these little guys, I will be giving the other to Cavo since i think this might be one she’d really enjoy. I know i’m likely going to order this one next time i place a CS order because it was such an enjoyable drink last night. So much so that i forgot to even take notes hahaha. I didn’t get the warming sensation that the others did with this one but it did result in a much relaxed Sil last night. Thanks so much for sharing this one Dexter

Final Count: 123

Edit: Whoops. Thanks so much, Dexter! I really appreciate the sample. :)

This seems like a pretty typical shou.

But holy &^%*! I can FEEL THE WARMING that Cwyn mentions in her note. OMG. Whoa.

…whoa.

Let’s see how far I can get with this tea.

2x pour-in-pour-out rinses.

Steep 1: IDK, time. WHOA. Yeah, it smells a little of that fishy smell that shou puerh does at times. But the taste is all DARK TEA and WHOA.

Oh man. Is 7pm too early to go to bed? It is? Guess I should have more tea. Ok.

Steep 2: 4-5 seconds. That’s really dark. Little mushroomy-fishy smelling. That warming taste/feeling is still there. Wow. My mouth almost feels like I’ve been nomming spicy foods. But I haven’t. Sadly. (Oooh, maybe I should order in Chinese. Or not. I am feeling kinda lazy. And IDK if Vancouver has one of those things where you order and pay online so someone just drops off food for you and there is a minimum amount of interaction.) A bit of sweetness is lingering.

Steep 3: I just want to nod off. I’m still enjoying this, but I’m not sure I’d want a lot of it. Fairly smooth, that weird “spice” flavour, a bit of lingering bitterness/sweetness.

I’ve been distracted and have done more steeps. I think I shall thaw a steak and do some dishes and cook the steak and NOM IT. Because that’s what I think my body needs.

Hong Jing Tian (Latin Rhodiola rosea) is an herb supposedly used in Tibet traditionally by monks engaged in physical labor, stronger than, but similar to ginseng. Used as a tonic, warming herb, balances qi, liver, cardio- genital. It is unclear to me from the store description of these 5 gr mini tuos if this herb is actually present in the tuo, whether the tea name is actual or just marketing. Rhodiola is usually sold as a powdered root or twigs.

Having said that, I think the twigs or root powder might really be in here. The tuos look hand formed rather than molded. The smaller 5 g size is perfect to toss in a Yixing. Opens up right after the rinse. I used about 200F temp. Dark red liquor, straddles the edge of musty to a little fishy in the aroma but not the taste. Viscous, bubbles stayed in the cup. Broken leaves and really cooked black twigs, but some fairly green leaves showed up in the pot for me.

Not bad for a shou, rolls and tingles the entire tongue and I definitely taste the black earth/ scorched bark with a touch of sweetness, not mineral quality or fig in the description. Not much change in the steeps, which is expected from a shou.

The real kicker of this tea though is in the heat it generates in the esophagus, upper stomach and heart. 8-10 steeps I was breaking a sweat. This tea is how to get your Yang on. I am really Yang anyway, and I will be treating this tea as a medicinal. This is a good tonic for jet lag and too much airplane food, or the salad someone makes for dinner in the winter. That clammy, cold feeling of too much yin food. I am overly warm anyway and had to chase the whole thing with half a glass of milk and I am still feeling the stomach and heart heat an hour later.

Like I said, I don’t know what is in this tuo, if it doesn’t have Rhodiola it is a darn good imitation in a puerh. I am going to treat this as if that herb is in there. However, it does concern me that the website description doesn’t tell people outright that an herb is in the tea you might not need. If you want a risk, would recommend for brave men, caution in women, check with your doctor or herbalist about Rhodiola to be sure.