My experience with this tea represents a cautionary tale not to judge a raw pu-erh on one session or even the first couple of steeps in a session. One’s relationship with a sheng is a story that unfolds over time, with turning points, climaxes, different moods and tones.
When I first tried this tea I thought it was pleasant, a bit mild for my tastes perhaps, but clean and friendly. And that impression continued into the first two steeps of the latest session. But then something happened on the third steep that caused me to adjust my estimation of the Wan Gong. All of a sudden it became a little sweeter, thicker and duskier, with a juiciness you get from eating a red grapefruit.
It could be that I first tried this in the midst of drinking stronger teas and it got lost in the cacophony of those noisier teas. Anyway, this is a really well-processed, calming tea with beautiful leaves that has some surprises in store when you find its sweet spot.
It has taught me to soldier on with All the Light We Cannot See, a book that is a bit precious for my tastes but hopefully will hit some other notes and prove worthy of its considerable reputation.
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I wasn’t too impressed by this one at first. Time to do another brew I see.
This sums it up well for me too. I’ve had some very good sessions with this and a few others where it’s good, sweet, but less exciting.
This is what I started doing about a year and a half ago (partly the reason I’m so bad at uploading notes now). I do at least three sessions with a tea before deciding how I feel about it. I’ve had teas blow me away the first time, to only feel somewhat bland later, then I’ve had some that never caught my attention but now turned into daily drinkers. This was the case with a cheaper jingmai that w2t had, mid aged very mellow. Now I’m trying to find it again and I can’t.
I wasn’t too impressed by this one at first. Time to do another brew I see.
This sums it up well for me too. I’ve had some very good sessions with this and a few others where it’s good, sweet, but less exciting.
This is what I started doing about a year and a half ago (partly the reason I’m so bad at uploading notes now). I do at least three sessions with a tea before deciding how I feel about it. I’ve had teas blow me away the first time, to only feel somewhat bland later, then I’ve had some that never caught my attention but now turned into daily drinkers. This was the case with a cheaper jingmai that w2t had, mid aged very mellow. Now I’m trying to find it again and I can’t.