BlueKittyMeow

Yanxin's Reserve '04 Shu Nuggets from Verdant Tea

BlueKittyMeow drank Yanxin's Reserve '04 Shu Nuggets by Verdant Tea

I’m brewing this western style so I can enjoy it while video editing without being too distracted. Woohoo multitasking!
I didn’t get much scent from the leaves, but the brewed tea has a definite fishy odor. I’ve learned not to judge tea too much on the scent though.
The flavor was actually pretty minimal. On my second steeping I went a little long but didn’t really see an improvement.
I don’t know about this tea. It’s another tea that I’ve tried recently that has been just mediocre. But I haven;t found a perfect pu-erh for a long time.

2012-10-19 21:50:44 -0400

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Bonnie 2012-10-20 11:49:54 -0400

I’m one of those people who will do the vendor recommended steeping for a couple steeps and then do my own thing if the flavor is too weak for my taste. I love a strong SHU! Sometimes these nuggets take more than one rinse initially, and can be very HARD! I’ve begun breaking the very hard ones a little right up front when dry (saw a video with a Chinese Master doing it). Maybe you are a heavy brew lover too, no telling? Maybe puerh isn’t your thing…it’s ok too.

BlueKittyMeow 2012-10-20 11:56:53 -0400

Thanks for the recommendation – I think you’re right and I do prefer some of my teas stronger. I know there is a method to breaking it up, I should have watched a video first. A couple rinses helped a bit but I can see this as a place where tools could come in helpful.

Bonnie 2012-10-20 11:59:27 -0400

Your fingers are good if it’s not too hard or a screwdriver (some people reading this might cringe…too bad…the shape is similar to the puer tool I have).

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I’m a writer and as such, am obviously an emotional rollercoaster. I used to drink tea a lot more, but kind of stopped and switched to coffee. Now, after too much stress, I’m completely unable to drink coffee anymore, so I figured tea would fulfill some of my “awake” needs as well as calm my emotions. I’m working my way through a huge selection of samples of pretty much everything, leaving notes so I remember what I like.
I love being adventurous and trying new things, even (especially?) things that sound strange or off-putting. Aside from tea I also enjoy tasting wines. The last really interesting one I tried was a dandelion wine! (And yes, it actually was delicious. Extremely bizarre and herby, but delicious).

I don’t have a set of numerical ratings set down yet, mainly because I’m very intuitive (read: disorganized and opinionated) about how I rate things. Basically, If something is in the 70-85 range, it’s pretty good, totally drinkable. Below that, in the 50-69 range, it was probably incredibly boring. I really hate boring tea. Below 50, I wouldn’t drink it again and might not have finished it (I actually really hate leaving ratings below 50, it makes me feel bad. I’m probably too nice). If it’s above 85 then I really liked it. Super high ratings are reserved for teas that totally blew me away.