Hekai Ancient Tree Raw Pu-erh Cake Tea

The first 4 steepings of this tea had a gentle/ pleasant bitterness that almost covered fruity notes of apple and a pleasant mix of sourness and sweetness.
After that the bitternesswas more in the background and the fruity notes came foreward, accompanied by a diffuse flowery taste I didn’t quite catch in the earlier steepings. From the 5th steeping on the dark but subtle flowery taste got the dominant note in the tea and developed into a bouquet of violets, jasmine and lilies.

I like the gentle bitternes in this tea that is quite prevalent in the beginning but in itself still smooth and tasty. Also the flowery notes were a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t encountered such such flavors in a sheng pu-erh yet.

Preparation:
5g Tea in a 75ml Gaiwan, almost boiling water fresh from the stove top
8s rinse, 10, 12, 20, 25, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 45, 50 seconds

Brews a light gold color. Tastes of pine, dried flowers, minerals, and incense. Slight brown sugar sweetness. There is a little bit of aged taste starting to develop, more than I would expect from a tea that’s blended 2015 and 2016 material. Compared to the 2017 not-so-ancient-tree Hekai, the taste is much more bitter and astringent, though I would still only call it moderately bitter. The mouthfeel is a bit thin, but it has a strong lingering aroma in the mouth. As I drink it I get a bit of the qi feels.

This one is definitely better than Teavivre’s cheaper Hekai. Good, but not outstanding.