6 Years Aged Pearl Lao Cha Tou Ripe Pu-erh tea of Menghai

Pu’erh TTB 2015 Tea #6

LaoCha is one of my favorite variation of the ’pu’erh’ world. With that being said, I took all the LaoCha I could find in the box beside the W2T which I have. At first I thought this was disappointing because it wasn’t thick and the taste was weak. So what did I do? I yelled at it and then decided to boil it with some water as punishment. Three minutes later I came back and tried to see if the punishment yielded better results. It did
This is one of the few teas I would ever recommend anyone brew for over a minute in regards to a dark/ripe tea because something they become too much like wet dirt and that is no fun. So three minutes it is which is odd when you gongfu…
Anyways, a great taste is leading me to the thought that I had before: LaoCha is a hard variation to have someone just jump out as a winner in regards to quality and taste.
I’m not sure if I’ll find the LaoCha I buy a kilogram for to put in a crock… but maybe one day I’ll stumble upon it.

I got this with my recent Yunnan Sourcing order and I have no clue why. I don’t really drink very much pu-erh, so why I would even look at it is a mystery. I can’t remember having done so, I can’t remember having put it in my basket and I can’t remember having ordered it. I can’t even remember why I would order it.

But it’s on my order confirmation, so I must have, mustn’t I?

And, you know, it’s not like I don’t like pu-erh. I like it just fine. It’s just, most of the time I’d rather have something else. I feel much the same way about green tea, actually.

But then for the last couple of weeks, I’ve been drinking it on my Wednesdays. And now I’m finding myself a little concerned about how much is in the pouch. Or rather, about how much isn’t in the pouch.

No, it’s not knock-your-socks-off-super-duper-fabulous. It’s merely… very drinkable. Which in a way is actually better, because when something is knock-your-socks-off-super-duper-fabulous a lot of people, and I think many of you will agree, will try to preserve it, fearing of running out and ultimately wind up not actually drinking it. With an eminently drinkable tea you get a really good tea which you actually allow yourself to have.

This one is running low on me, but it doesn’t make me stop making it for fear of running out. When it’s gone it’s gone and that’s all. If I’m not drinking something because I’m hoarding it or if I’m not drinking it because I haven’t got it really amounts to the same thing in the end.

So while I have it, I’m actually enjoying it. It’s mild and smooth and slightly earthy and slightly mushroom-y. I can’t even really describe it. It’s one of those ‘just tastes like tea shrug’ kind of teas. With qualifiers for the type, obviously

Will it make me drink more pu-erh? Doubtful. I see this pouch as a bit of a fad, really. It’ll pass, I expect. (It always does) Now, if you’ll excuse me, these designs don’t stitch themselves, you know.

I was in a hurry today so I brewed this up western style in a big pot. It is very tasty with a nice natural sweetness and very little fermentation flavor. I’m not really paying attention to the tea so I won’t get into specific notes but just say this is at least worth 50g with your next Yunnan Sourcing order, it’s a very nice tea.

I brewed this twice in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker with 9.8g leaf and boiling water. I steeped it for 30 sec and 30 sec. I put the second infusion in a Zojirushi to bring with me to my appointment.

a nice tea

when i smell the leaves dry, they smell kind of musty.

when i smell the leaves wet, they smell like earth and mellowness.

when i smell the brewed tea it smells mellow and earthy.

when i taste the brewed tea, it tastes smooth and earthy

many thanks to scott wilson and yunnan sourcing for selling me this tea