"Planet Kunlu" 2017

Gongfu Sipdown (620)!

Finished off last weekend – a really nice session overall! This was something I was given as a free sample when I ordered my Honeymoon cake last Black Friday, so I’ve had it for a little while now. Probably not something I would have ordered for myself, but those are often the best samples because they surprise you and push you outside your comfort zone!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Byx9UqwgUEW/

To brew this tea, I used my largest chahai and I stacked my infusions four at a time (excluding the rinse) – I did this for three “sets”, so a total of twelve infusions. This doesn’t allow you to see the flavour unfold/develop in the same way as normal Gong Fu brewing, but it does work for a more casual sitting, because you have a minute or two of straight brewing and then a large quantity of brewed tea to drink over a prolonged period of time.

This was delicious – very sweet and syrupy, both in taste but a syrupy/thick mouthfeel as well. Each set was packed with those syrupy/sweet elements in the form of stonefruit notes and dense, sickly sweet overripe pineapple juice notes – both being flavours that I adore, but especially the overripe pineapple. The kind that gushes when you bite into it, and dribbles on your chin. It was the tiniest bit bitter and astringent (in a pleasant way), with a hint of a more green element, and then a buttery note in the finish.

Solid, solid tea.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uz0rr_7O90

Changes since last time. I use teabags as needed. I also seldom use clay pots anymore. It feels less mystical, but porcelain and glazed ceramic facilitate a cleaner tasting experience. So I tossed the 2nd half of this ball into a teabag and then into a lin’s pottery vessel. After a long hiatus from incense I am back on the aloeswood. While I do think kunlu is an acquired taste, clt’s sample packs have caused me to, over time, be won over. I would still describe the primary opening signature flavor as bark, but there is a distinct pre-taste aura of cocoa nibs or something dry and nutty. And as you steep more, it burbles into a low key vegetable sweetness. It is like a reserved, dry-humored person who opens up to you over time, in unannounced spurts. This is not the giddy social butterfly who makes rounds at parties giving everyone airy cheek kisses or frat boy pats on the butt. It also doesn’t slip you drugs. It doesn’t ever compliment you to your face, but somehow leaves you with the sneaking suspicion that it sometimes gushes about you to other teas when you aren’t present. Like, this tea secretly doesn’t mind that you exist, and you are in on the secret, but we don’t talk about that because remember, it is a secret. It is maybe a cat, not a dog. Make sense? No? Okay.

This dragon ball lasts forever – so long, I had to break it up into two sessions and could’ve gotten away with three. I imagine if I had done flash steeps after the initial 30s, I would’ve gotten 20+ infusions.

I was surprised how dark the liquor was – a nice, clear, medium amber. This is a texture-heavy puer – one of the thickest I’ve ever had. Sits like a ball in the belly and time releases itself from there. Very savory and alkaline; a little sour and honey. Slight dark-honeyed stonefruit aftertaste taste early on. Has a light bitterness that becomes prominent when cooled. Astringency is there, not in my face but sneaks up on me. The liquor brightens up near the end and gives a moderate buttery flavor. The energy was of a zoning out but the caffeine kept me focused. Spent leaf looks good, I can tell it’s no longer a baby. If somebody told me this tea was older than 2017, I’d believe them.

I’m glad I brewed this gongfu over chilling with it grandpa style. I think the thickness and savoriness would’ve been overwhelming that way. Seems like a good puer for playing video games on a cold, dark winter night