Fengqing Ripened Tribute Pu-erh Cake Tea 2013

Rinsed dry leaves twice.

Ahh I finally am getting to reviewing this tea, so sorry for the delay Teavivre!! A huge thanks for this free sample!

I was originally just going to make a big cozy mug of this as it’s freezing here on the first day of November and I have been trying to warm up enough to do something all day, but I looked at my little teapot from Crimson Lotus and thought man it’s been a while since I’ve used it! This is the teapot I didn’t season and just went for it when I first used it and it yielded excellent results, so I’m excited to try another shou in it today!

I used probably a little over half of my sample for this session, I was going to use it all but since the teapot is so small I thought I better use close to half to start, plus I will have enough for a Western cup another day! I did a quick 10s rinse with boiling water and poured this over my teapot, mmm there is a lovely musty, almost creamy rich smell about it. Man I always say this – I need to drink shou more often!

The first steep I did for 10s with boiling water as well, and the liquor is nicely dark already, not opaque but a nice rich reddish brown color. It smells sweet and woodsy. As for the flavor, mmmm this is a pleasant puerh, it is actually super sweet!! Like a drippy caramel flavor, toffee-like, melding with a rich mahogany wood with the barest hint of smoke to round it out and make it even cosier. It’s thick and rich and delicious. I’m not sure if some of the flavor of Lake Huron (the last tea I had in the teapot) is adding to the thick, rich flavor, but man is this ever good. I am also detecting a slight floral dryness in the aftertaste, hmm could be interesting to see how that develops!

Steep 2 – 20s with boiling water – also, I am following the parameters on Teavivre’s website haha, the liquor is about twice as dark and the sweet wood smell is growing in intensity. Mmm the woody flavor is growing too, still rich, becoming deeper, still with that mild smoke note. As it cools the sweetness disperses into a mild molasses hint and a great roasted cedar note comes through. The mouthfeel has changed from less creamy to deeper now too. Yum. Amazing how just letting it cool changes the flavor oh so much!

Overall, the first two steeps of this have been great, and I look forward to an afternoon of this, steeping it out and being warm. I’m excited to see how the flavor changes, since there has already been quite a change between the first two steepings. Hopefully I can get some cleaning done too now that I’m warmer, although I feel cozy and content, this tea is evoking a nice relaxed feeling rather than energetic so far haha. Once again, thanks to Teavivre, particularly Angel there, for giving me the opportunity to try this lovely shou!

Tea provided by Teavivre for review

This is the final sample out of five I was given recently to try. Like with the other ripe puerh sample, I decided to short steep this 10 times as suggested on Teavivre’s website.

In comparison with the Menghai Palace Ripened Pu-erh Cake Tea 2008 that I tried last time, the first steep of this tea is actually quite different. It’s less earthy, more roasted/smoky and has a nice floral (rose) flavour.

Much of the sample had unraveled by the second steep, but it didn’t become overly bold or earthy. There was a nice bitterness and umami flavour that consisted through the ten steeps. I didn’t expect to like the bitterness, but it actually paired well with the earthy and umami. Towards the last couple of steeps, I mostly tasted tasted the bitterness, floral and roasted flavours.

Overall this sample impressed me a lot more than the other ripe puerh one. And out of all the riped puerh sold by Teavivre, this would be one of my favourite alongside their Aged Chenpi Ripened Tangerine Pu-erh 2009 (which I’ve yet to review, oops!). Even though there is a bitterness to the tea, it is palatable and enjoyable. I quite liked the characteristics of this tea, because most of the riped puerh I have tried are very samey and this one is more memorable.
That being said, this type of tea is an acquired taste. If you’re interested in trying ripened puerh, this is certainly one of the more interesting ones you can sample from Teavivre.

I’m itching to sample another Pu-erh tea. Thanks to Angel, that itch will be scratched this morning!

I cut open the silver sample package and snorted deeply. The familiar earthy smell was present but there was also a musty attribute to it. It reminded me of when I open a drawer filled with old clothes.

I don’t know if it’s old age catching up to me but I am finding it increasingly more difficult to read the tiny directions on Teavivre’s sample packaging. I couldn’t quite make out the recommended steeping time so I brewed the dark brown matted and clumped leaves and “cake” for three minutes at 212 degrees.

The brewed color was a dark brownish amber, like maple syrup. The aroma was earthy and leathery, what I expected from a Pu-erh tea. The musty attribute had disappeared from the smell.

I didn’t find the flavor as robust as some of the other Pu-erh teas that I have sampled recently. I wondered if this was a result of the shorter steeping time, the more recent processing time, or a combination of both.

In any event, the flavor was mostly smooth and unmistakably Pu-erh. As I slurped more and more from my cup, the attribute that I had earlier tagged as musty in the unbrewed odor began to creep into the flavor. This peculiarity lingered on my taste buds as a slightly bitter note. The quirk didn’t ruin my experience with the tea but it wasn’t something that I cherished either. After almost a full cup of the brew, my brain (and buds) seemed to learn how to push most of the musty trait aside.

I can’t deny that I would have been more enthusiastic about this tea without the flavor foible. I also would have appreciated a richer and more powerful Pu-erh taste. However, that being said, this is still a decent Pu-erh offering from Teavivre.

This is another sample from Teavivre – a bit of a puerh tour, how fun is that! Want to start by saying that I am going to have to try short-steeping this next time because it appears my fellow Steeps are appreciating this more than I am; I did like it, though. Did a 10s rinse then 4x 2-3 minute steepings. I kept waiting for the creaminess and other high points to appear, no luck.

All the steepings had earth and just the barest sweetness, with a bit of astringency in the aftertaste. 1st and 2nd steeps had tobacco, 2nd had mushroom with a whisper of chocolate (my favorite steeping), 3rd had damp earth and wood smoke, 4th back to a bit of mushroom and what I could almost but not quite call floral that’s in the tea’s description.

Wondering if it’s my method or my taste buds…

Thank you to Angel at TeaVivre for this sample!

Let me preface this note by saying that I am a newbie to pu-erh teas. I have only tried a few before this one!

Dry: This came from a cake, but was mostly already broken up into smaller pieces. There were a few larger chunks that I reduced a bit before brewing. The black dry leaf is tightly packed, glossy, and bright. The smell from the sample pack is earthy at first, but reminds me of leather from my saddle after I take a second sniff, with a hint of a thick sweetness at the edges, like molasses.

Steeped: I wanted to brew this with the Western method, since that is what I most often use. When I brewed my last pu-erh and used Gongfu style, I awakened the leaves. I wasn’t sure if you still do this when brewing Western, but I went ahead and did a quick rinse before I fully infused. The leaves immediately started releasing their tannins and the fragrance intensified to sweet, warm dates. After steeping, the tea is a deep rich brown liquor and the aroma is even more potent.

Taste: My first sip reminded me of quality black coffee, but not because of the flavor. I drank coffee for years before I switched to tea and the texture and the hint of bitter/earthiness at the end of each sip is what awakens the memory. The taste itself is overall sweet with notes of worn leather, earth, dates, and even a hint of floral and tobacco. It is not a simple tea, though it does have that same smooth/serene nature as the Superfine Tan Yang Gong Fu from earlier (with an entirely different profile otherwise).

I brewed this with bottled Spring water and it resteeped wonderfully so far with the flavor remaining fully intact after 3 in a row. I can see it is good to go for at least a few more. While I am very thankful I was able to try it, I tend to avoid teas with notes of tobacco, earth, etc. I am giving it a high rating though because I try not to rate teas based on whether they match my taste buds, but rather that it was exactly as described on the TeaVivre website. I know there are others that would love this with the deep complexity released from the aged leaves. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! :)

My daughters have landed in Toronto and will be attending the Tea Festival on Saturday. Youngest and I were drinking this before they left and I am still drinking it tonight, and it seems so strange to me that they are so quickly so far away!

This is the last of my sample, and it has been a real trial knowing that my tea is in town but didn’t get here in time for today’s mail truck, so I will be out of this tea for twelve hours. TWELVE HOURS. First world problems, lol!

This has an amazingly sweet edge that woos everyone who tries it. I teach voice to four quadruplet siblings, two at a time. They just started this week. Two of them tried this tea today and they have never had any “exotic” teas before. They liked it, and are eager to try more teas.

I will be glad to see the postman tomorrow!

Thank you Teavivre for the free sample!

160ml yixing pot filled about half way (80-90ml)
7g of leaves
212F
4 infusions: 5s rinse, 5s rinse, 5s, 10s, 20s, 30s

It’s a rich, creamy shou. Earthy and a little chocolaty too. It starts off light and sweet and the more you brew it the richer it gets. I only did 4 infusions but it has a lot of life left in it that I’m using to raise the pot. Definitely a candidate for purchase. :)

Thank you, Angel, for providing me samples!

Gongfu method with a ceramic gaiwan. 10 second rinse. Steeping times: 10, 5, 10, 5, 15, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120.

The dry leaf has an aroma of earth and old leather. The wet aroma evolves after the rinse and first couple infusions – sugarcane, leather, bread, pipe tobacco – and remains sweet and earthy thereafter.

Throughout the session, the liquor is full-bodied, sweet, and soft. Early and late infusions have rusty, brick-like color, whereas those in between are darker, resembling coffee. The first infusion has a thin texture and notes of leather and tart plums. Second introduces wood of trees that are neither young nor old. Aftertaste of black coffee, which is present in the third infusion and only partially in the evergreen-like fourth. The fifth infusion tastes like leather bound books. Up to this point, the texture has been thin. The sixth infusion is notably thicker. Creamy, sweet and sugary as well – the climax of the session. The intensity now decreases. The seventh and eighths infusions have a thinner texture and loam, wood, and chocolate notes. Lastly, the ninth and tenth infusions – combined – taste of burned wood, fried potatoes, BBQ ribs, and salt. with a smoky aftertaste. A thick texture returns.

The tartness early on was not to my taste, but I like how this shou evolved. Great finish. Interesting how the texture wasn’t consistent.

I’ve had this a few times now, and I like it more and more every time. It has a thick, almost creamy mouthfeel, scents and tastes of aged leather, pipe tobacco and woodsmoke, and a salty-sweet aftertaste.

This afternoon, I’m steeping it in a gaiwan with about 100ml boiling water for 10-40s a time, and for me that brings out its best – not too strong but with all its aromas and tastes intact.

I’ll definitely be buying a cake of this for my winter stock-up.