Wild Monk Sheng Pu'er (2012)

When wet, the leaves expanded wonderfully. I always love checking on them right after the wash, when the creases of the leaves are glowing with a brilliant light green, juxtaposed to the now dark forest green of the curled leaf faces. Normally when I check the leaves, I tend to count or pick out the leaves that are completely whole. This time, I was counting the leaves that were incomplete. The smallest leaf chunk was about the size of a dime, and there were only 3 loose stems. Considering this contained the bottom of the sample, I’d say that’s quite impressive. Most leaves were 1.5 to 2 inches, a smaller pile was between 1 and 1.5 inches. Most leaf edges were intact and the veins were clear against the leaf face. Bruising was minimal, mostly around the edges, but about 3 leaves out of about 40 were very bruised. Otherwise, every leaf looked pretty much the same.

The wet leaf aroma was like candied soy beans (is this a thing?) and snap peas. They smelled somewhat fresh and bright, with some darker undertones like over-boiled broccoli and stone. At some points, they became yeasty-smelling and biscuity. Much later on, they took on aromas of freshly cut grass, melon, and tiny hints of fresh mushrooms.

My main criticism was that it didn’t taste like Pu’er. It is a VERY good tea but it is not what I expected, which let me down quite a bit. I would still recommend to anyone, even though they are sold out.

I ordered this tea from shopmandalatea.com and it came smelling really bad. The taste didnt seem to be effected and maybe it was the shipping but I have to say I was not impressed.

A sample I’ve been saving, from Dexter. :) Thank you!

I rinsed it from my regular kettle, then let it sit while my Zojirushi thermos thing came up to temperature.

20s: SMOKE. OMG, the smoke. Wow. It smells super duper strong, but the colour is quite pale. The taste isn’t super smoky, it’s a little astringent and carby and… almost a touch sour.

30s: Still smoke. Still super pale. IDK if I really love it, but it’s really neat. The sour/bitter/astringent (I can’t tell!) flavour makes it interesting and also turns me off a bit.

I lost track of time, about 1 minute?: Still smoke. Still super pale. Starting to get sweet, along with the previous flavours. I breathe smoke still, but I don’t really taste it. It’s weird.

And honestly I’m kinda bored with writing this now. I think I’ll just keep slowly drinking my tea, and I’ll make any astounding updates later. ;)

I drank almost 1/4 of my steaming root beer float eggnog latte while this next cup steeped. Whoops. Still drinkable but green and bitter. A green bitter. Does that make sense? Different from a black tea bitter. Or even a green tea bitter.

I had another way oversteep that I had to dump. :(

The steep I’m currently drinking is sweet and a lot softer. I still smell smoke, but the flavour has changed a lot. It’s fresh and… reminds me of fresh dried alfalfa. :)

This tea is good. I am getting sweet flavors (not meaning sugar sweet). I can also taste some of the other notes on the list such as the flowers note and the molasses. There is also an aged flavor to it that wasn’t present in the 2014 Wild Monk. This flavor is slightly earthy in a different sort of way than a ripe puerh. This is not a strong earthy flavor but a mild one. It was strong in steeps one through three. By steep four it is weaker. The tea is more smooth. By the fifth steep, all bitterness is but a faint memory, the earthy flavor has nearly dissipated. By the sixth steep that earthy flavor is all but gone. On the seventh steeping I get notes of butter and cream, no more earthy aged flavor. On the eighth steep I still taste a strong aftertaste, it is good. I am doing longer steeps now. The ninth steep is perhaps the tastiest sheng I have had. I hope the 2014 Wild Monk becomes this good in two more years. On the tenth steep now, just smooth, no bitterness, no earthiness or aged flavor, none at all, not a hint. Steep eleven is like steep ten, smooth and sweet. Even though this is the eleventh steep there is still an aftertaste to this tea. For the twelfth steep I added fresh raspberries and had raspberry cream sheng, very tasty. After twelve steeps I am all shenged out. I have enough of this sample left to do this two more times. Thank you Sarsonator for this sample. It was good. I wish this tea was still available.

I steeped this twelve times in a 140ml Yixing teapot with 200 degree water and 5g leaf. I steeped it for 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, and 5 min. Even in the twelfth steeping the tea did not get much weaker, only better.

2014

From the wonderful Stephanie

rich
earthy
deep
not smoky, but minerally I think
complex
kinda spicy

I was drinking this all day while dealing with a shit ton of work crap that just seems to be getting deeper. I don’t even know anymore. I remember drinking the tea and enjoying it, but I don’t remember a lot. It’s a shame. I know I want this one again.

It’s hard to think of a more pleasing sheng. If it were an actor it would probably be Tom Hanks—consistently very good, eminently likeable, almost no bitterness or rancor. It might not be the Daniel Day Lewis of teas, but sometimes all that intensity can be trying.

So it’s not really the first time I’ve tried Wild Monk, but I guess I just forgot to report it the first time. The sweetish, familiar scent that I couldn’t pinpoint before… now that I’ve had the time to properly think and meditate on it, I was reminded of a time back in high school during our senior retreat, when as part of our trip, we visited a cigar factory. As I don’t smoke, that was the only time I was ever exposed to this scent before trying out this Wild Monk…

Reminds me of tobacco. Now, I always found that scent of tobacco quite alluring. I just have health concerns over smoking. So! This tea? It’s a godsend. I can enjoy something that tastes like tobacco, without having to smoke. And dare I say, again, it’s very sweet. It’s my second steeping now. Should be good to keep me up until I finish helping out with my niece’s first birthday party.

Thanks for this great sample, Garret! :)

Dear Wild Monk:

I love you very very much. I love your little whiff of smoke. I love your juicy bits. I love your creamy bits. I love the way you make me feel happy and relaxed. I love you so very much that I can’t believe I’ve never written a note about you. WTH? Also, I love drinking you with the other two Wild Tea Triplets.

PS – I also love that I have a shitload of you.

This one’s for you, Foxy!!!

Method: 3.3 g, 3 oz, 200 degrees, 10 sec rinse, 10-15-20-25 seconds, ru kiln gaiwan, all 4 steeps blended into one mug

Dry Leaf Aroma: smells like a fruity cave

Brewing Aroma: did someone sneak into my house in the night and scent all my shengs with apricot? Sneaky monkey! Also leather (yay!) and forest

Flavor: leather fruit! Not fruit leather, but leather fruit. This is also sweet and has a toasty finish. Wasn’t expecting that. I love you, sheng!!!!!

And now we hike, through the woods, drunk on shengy leather fruit, hunting for the wild blueberry. Onward!

So I asked for and received this tea as a Christmas gift. I figured since it is such a young tea I’d just store if for a few years before opening it, so I put in away and didn’t even try it. Now it’s July and I keep reading how awesome this tea is. Then I read how it’s almost sold out and I think to myself what if I’m missing out on one of the best teas one can buy? So… I tried it…

After a short rinse I smelled the leaves. This is one of my favorite parts of the tea experience, second only to the cha qi of the tea. My first impression was whaaaaaaat is THIS!!! I had never smelled such a scent from a tea before, smoky, sweet, floral tones. I did a short steep of 10 seconds with ~200 degree water and sat down for a taste. The smokiness of this tea is abundant with rich flower essence, undertones of straw and sage. By the end of the first session I was already feeling the cha qi which I did not expect. The cha qi was a very introspective experience for me, blurring the edges of my consciousness yet focusing and brightening my present experience. As I was half way through my third steeping I realized that this tea has virtually no bitterness at all, a rarity in a sheng and something I cherish in a sheng as well! I’m sold… this tea is damn good! I bought 2 more to age while I put this one in my tea for a special occasion stash. Truly a wonderful tea, and only in it’s infancy! I can’t wait to taste it when I’m 60! Hahahaha, if I can hold off on drinking it for that long! ;)