2006 Little Gold Melon Shu

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge – August Tea #7 -A melon tea

So I have THREE teas for this prompt, as this puerh is not really a MELON flavored tea, it’s only in the name.  To make up for that, I also steeped up some of 52Teas Cantaloupe Watermelon white tea which still tastes divine a couple days ago.  Today, Bird & Blend’s One in A Melon which I must have at least once a year on the hottest of days.  But I didn’t want to count either one of those for this challenge, as they’re not a sipdown.  Melon teas are HARD for me to sipdown as the melon teas are some of my most cherished teas.  The flavors are usually so amazing for melon teas, so I’m grateful that this prompt had me thinking of all those tasty melon teas. :D   This melon puerh:  it’s fine.  A little fishy on the first steep.  I’d rather it taste like melon!  Shu + melon = a yum idea anyway. I forget if I have combined a melon tea and a shu yet… hmm…
2022 sipdowns:   95

103/365

Been drinking a lot of shou lately, after a gap of…don’t know how long! I used to be pretty scared of pu’erh in general, but it’s slowly become something I look forward to. I quite like it at work, because it’s interesting (and convenient) to resteep over the course of a day, and spend some time getting to know a particular tea. It’s also a pleasing distraction from my job (which I currently dislike intensely), and strong enough to keep my headaches at bay.

From the first sip, it’s evident that this isn’t a typical shou – at least in some respects. It doesn’t have any of those super-prominent dirt/decay flavours which seem to be par for the course with shou (although I have come to enjoy that, to a certain extent). Instead, there’s a gentle earthiness and a deep, sweet creaminess. It’s not often I describe pu’erh as sweet, but this one absolutely is. It would make a pretty good introduction to shou for someone who’s uncertain – I only wish my first taste had been as encouraging! It’s probably fair to say that there is a background muddiness, but it’s pretty subdued and in no way pungent. I think this is going to be a good one – nicely on the side of gentle to round off the week.

Now this is a puer that stood out for me on so many levels. I kept it for a while and, after a more than a moment of hesitation, still decided to try it at 10 PM about an hour before I would have to go to bed. In my experience, a typical shou is not the best choice option for a late-night tea…but this tea is anything but typical.

First, it has a very appealing formulation: 20 g. It opens so many different ways to use it while still being fairly easily portable. Second, the taste: it was the most unusual shu that I tried so far. There was none of the common heavily earthy, woody and generally oppressive notes of decay. Instead, this tea is incredibly light and sweet. But this sweetness is not floral-based but rather intertwined with equally light notes of mushrooms, meat-based broth and, most prominently, the taste of naturally sweet water from a well or a spring somewhere in the wilderness.

This Gold Melon works extremely well with short infusion, it works equally well with the longer ones: the sweetness becomes even more pronounced without any hint of bitterness.

All-in-all, this puer is a very optimistic, sunshine-filled and uplifting drink. Good on its own, even better as a desert after a hearty meal. This tea is so tasty and “different” that I will certainly order a sleeve of it – because in addition to all its goodness this puer is also very affordable.

This half ball Xiao jin gua shaped Shu really is a beauty of its own. Even within its tight compressed way its full texture and bouquet shines already through. Its steaming atmosphere completes the now ultimate thick profile. With a creamy silky character it already gives its first impressive speech while waiting for the actual liquor. This fine mist within those steaming darkness really reminds me of a wet rainy Autumn day surrounded by gigantic old trees like birch while the ground is soaked up wet covered with moss and bark mulch – this also is a major part of this creamy silky soft liquor – like a beautiful unforgettable day in the middle of nature while Autumn kisses every tree and leaves with its bright and diversity of coloration. Between this whole nature aspect there might be something else too – in this case it reminds me a lot of a subtle light with juniper smoked ham plus a fine sweet echo of cranberries. This Shou really got a nice profile and well rounded body liquor. There is a certain sweetness to it like a hint of brown cane sugar. Very highly enjoyable!

After some difficulty in stabbing, prying, and dissecting off enough leaf to get to about 7-8 g, I was finally ready to dig into my first tuo-cha and second White2Tea pu’erh. It was cat-approved by our newest one (she has good taste) before I dropped it into my gaiwan. I personally didn’t smell much, except a light pleasant slightly dusty odor I’ve begun to associate with pu’erh tea.

4-5 oz. 200-205 F. Did a short rinse. First steep ~10 sec. I wasn’t expecting the flavor that came from the dark, earthy liquid. The first sip struck me as a cup of chocolate. But not quite chocolate—cocoa. It was rich and thick, with more earthiness to it than creaminess.

Second steep went longer than intended, but no bitterness popped out! It’s still thick, with the cocoa there but tipping towards the creamy side now and mellowed out.

Funny how things go. In my previous note I said I can’t differentiate shu tastes and then I tried this and noticed big differences with the red shroom. This tea seems much less ‘strong’. It’s not as thick and black, though I put about half of the melon in a small pot. It’s much tastier though. Keeping in mind I tried both just a single time, I think I prefer this. (edit:typos)

2/14/2017 Tea in the afternoon. 8g/ 4oz/ 212F/5-15 second steeps

A very nice shou for a winter afternoon. Warming and filling. Light pleasant ‘sheep building at the county fair’ aroma.

The tuo has been hanging out in my tea cupboard for a year so, just chilling out. I’m very happy with how well it’s adjusted to my house.

Made the mistake of brewing the entire 20g at once in my ceramic tea pot. I’m still not half through it and I’ve already had to keep the leaves in the fridge overnight. Luckily it’s a super accessible shou and my SO who doesn’t really drink tea, let alone puerh, has started to ask for a cup or two.

It’s one of those shous that brew up nice and super black. Nice sweet creamy flavor with a really subdued earthiness instead of that strong “dirt” taste that usually throws off people who I’ve shared puerh with. It would be nicer if the melons were half the size since breaking them apart seems to me to be more work than if there was just a small cake, but otherwise this was a lovely drinker. I only wished I had waited until colder weather to try this.

The last from Dark Matter 2016 series

Well, before I jump into the tea, as of Sunday, I’ve a BA in Education; however, I must now go through more classes to become a certified History/English teacher. I went the long route, but I’ll be done within two semesters.

Now, the tea….

I’ve been drinking plenty of this. I took 7g of the melon and used a 150ml Gawain for the tea. I must say that the past couple days have been enjoyable with this tea. I must say that the wood, wet earth, thick mouth-feel (creamy?), moss, and cocoa notes are pleasant. I told my wife that this was similar to a thick dark beer; quite malty. Anyway, I would say that it’s a “Winter” tea, since I usually go for White, Green, Raw pu, or Oolongs in the Summer months. However, this is a typical morning tea for me….And considering that the price is right, when I’m able to purchase a large quantity in the Fall, I will.

Overall, it’s a solid tea. I’d just prefer to drink it often in the colder months.

Got one of these as part of Dark Matter 2016! Seems to brew better with a pretty high amount of tea. Got better results with 5.5g than with 4g in my 60mL gaiwan, but I still have to try something more in the middle of those numbers.

For the 5.5g session, I tasted a lot of wetness in the early steeps, which went away, at least on the front of the sip, around steep 4 or so. After that I got a few creamy, sweet, woody steeps with a kind of wet mossy aftertaste. Around steep 8, the aftertaste started getting a bit too funky/weird for me so I called it. I seem to be finding myself less a fan of ripe puerh lately, but I did enjoy this session at least to some degree.