2013 Yunnan Sourcing Xue Ju Shu Pu Ripe Puerh and Snow Chrysantehmum Tea Brick

Absolutely lovely ripe pu-erh cake. If there are any unpleasant flavours from fermentation the chrysanthemum does an excellent job masking them. This blend tastes sweet and earthy, much like an aged raw pu-erh, with notes of leather, wood, flowers, and smoke. If shou is supposed to emulate aged sheng, this is the perfect example of it done correctly.

This tea brick was only about $10 for 100 grams of tea, so my expectations were not very high. Going to order much more next time as it’s great for an everyday pu-erh considering the price. I will say that the re-steep value isn’t great, I got perhaps three or four strong brews in a gaiwan before the flavour quickly dropped off. The cake has a loose compression which I love, I could easily pry off a portion with a butter knife and hardly any pressure.

Backlog 16 June 2016

Well, quick thought before I dig into the review. It has been a LONG week. I’ve had forty students this week, and after spending a total amount of 120 hours with them between three weeks, I think we’ve all gone a bit daffy. I love them all, but after this week, I need tea—and a lot of it.

I wanted some tea that was stronger than Sencha, Chamomile, or an herbal/rooibos blend; therefore, I dug this tea out from the “Samples from Tea Friends” box. Yeah, I happened to start drinking it after 7:00 P.M., when I needed a full eight hours so that I could get up the following day at 5:45 A.M. to get ready for the day. However, I was so hyper/tea drunk, that I ended up saying, “The heck with it, I’ll keep drinking tea” until 12:30 A.M. And the result was a bit interesting.

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A quick note on the flavor/color of the liquor before I decide to run away from the computer, to spend the day lost in the woods…..It was an enjoyable ripe pu-erh, and the chrysanthemum gave it a nice sweet floral bite. I jotted down, “malty floral flavors, with those wet wood, earthy, and sweet river nectar (?) notes.”

Overall, ‘twas a great session.

P.S. This sample was given to me by Kirkoneill1988 via tea swap. Thank you. It was quite fun.

P.P.S. This is a cheap tea that’ll blow your mind and get ya pretty tea drunk. Great for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up.

http://yunnansourcing.com/en/2013-yunnan-sourcing-pu-erh-teas/2400-2013-yunnan-sourcing-xue-ju-shu-pu-ripe-pu-erh-and-snow-chrysanthemum-tea-brick.html

i have a big chunk left, maybe i can break it into two, anyone want to try half?

This was the perfect tea to start my sunny but cool fall day. It’s beautiful to look at, first of all, a field of beautiful dried flowers on a rich earthy shu background, but also rich & satisfying, with a zingy kind of quality from the chrysanthemums. I’ve always enjoyed chrysanthemums alone as an evening cup, especially nice while fixing dinner. They seem to be good for my appetite, and so I sipped this one while fixing breakfast, and while eating my breakfast soup, and after breakfast as well.