I decided I needed to get one of these cakes after seeing Verdant tweet about it. And I almost had a heart attack when I thought mine got lost in the mail but it showed up two days after the USPS said it was delivered.
Anyway on to the tea. I broke this up into a small piece and decided to steep it in the yixing teapot. I usually don’t steep my shengs for too long. I used water that was almost boiling.
First steep: After a quick rinse, I inhale and the wet leaf smells of smoke and woods. The tea got a 30 second or so steeping. Perhaps it is the power of suggestion but I am getting the thick, nutty quality which Verdant describes in their tasting note. This seems to be the top note and the finish is slightly bittersweet with a tobacco like quality that lingers on your tongue and gets fizzy. Nice.
The 2nd steep I did for about 10 seconds. I am also getting the plantain sort of flavor described in the tasting notes. But make no mistake, this is definitely a sheng pu-erh, very assertive and bold. Not as bitter as some younger shengs I have tried, but I would recommend keeping your steeping times short.
I am no experts on sheng but I’m enjoying the flavors of this one a lot. It should be really interesting to see how this ages over time…
A nice offering from Verdant, thank you for sharing with us David.
