Chongqing Tuo Tea

So I know nothing about this tea, and the box it came in isn’t very helpful. Most of the info is in Chinese and there’s very little info. But I figured, for $4 for a 100g tuo, it was worth a try. I’ve only sampled a few different puerhs, so I haven’t developed much of a palate for them yet.

I broke off about a teaspoon worth of tea, did a quick rinse and brewed it in 8oz of boiling water for 30 seconds. The liquor is a medium brown and not quite opaque.

This smells earthy, a bit musty, with a fragrance that I think is fermentation – it’s a smell I associate with puerh and to me it smells like dark brown, but I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone else.

On the palate this is not bad. Very dry, no astringency, hints of bitterness, earth taste and already a hint of that puerh tingle. Not too complex at first, but there’s a richness developing in the back of my mouth that makes me think of coffee, chocolate and maybe raisins? There’s something vaguely red wine about this. The finish is very long – I think it’s going to fade out and then long after I’ve swallowed my sip, suddenly there’s an herbal note that pops up for a moment.

I’ll have to try steeping this gong fu style soon, and then maybe put this away to age for a while and see how it develops.