Large Leaf from Old Trees Pu-erh

This tea has a surprising amount of bite for a pu-erh of this age.

I tried brewing this tea different ways (varying the steeping time and leaf amount) and it had a similar overall character, only the strength varied, and less than one might expect.

Earthy, but with a fresh, herbaceous quality in the aroma, that I find is unusual in teas of this age.

I think this tea is very reasonably priced, given its quality and the fact that the leaves go a long way and are good for many infusions.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 tsp
Additives: none
Water: 6 ounces boiling
Tool: Mesh basket strainer in cup
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: leafy, muddy

Steep Time: a little over 30 seconds
Steeped Tea Smell: leaves
Flavor: muddy
Body: Medium
Liquor: translucent orange brown

Tossed, I guess this counts as the rinse

Steep Time: a little over 30 seconds
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, leaves
Flavor: muddy, sweet, silky
Body: Medium
Liquor: translucent orange brown

Steep Time: a little over 45 seconds
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, leaves
Flavor: muddy, sweet, silky
Body: Medium
Liquor: translucent brown with an orange hint

Steep Time: a little over 45 seconds
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet, leaves
Flavor: muddy, sweet, silky, bitter
Body: Medium
Liquor: translucent light orange-brown

Since it got bitter I stopped.

I think next time I may try 2 tsp / 6 ounces. Perhaps this will raise the rating?

I am very new to pu-erh so I’m finding may way through. I may end up not liking it. So I am not sure if I do or do not like pu-erh in general, or even if I prepared these leaves correctly.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/chicago-tea-garden-loose-leaf-pu-erh.html

Smells like dirt. It tastes like a soggy forest floor; like shoveling dirt into your mouth and maybe a bit of damp moss too. Tastes like dirt. Some people would say “earthy” but that word is only for people who are afraid to say they like drinking dirt. This is exactly how I like my pu-erh – dirty.

I got this during CTG’s going out of business sale in summer. I’ve only started brewing it lately and I don’t know what went wrong but it has hardly any aroma whatsoever. Perhaps when I opened the bag upon receiving it, I didn’t close it back properly, and these loose leaves got aired out to the point of tastelessness. Perhaps this was old stock held too long by either Tony or David Lee Hoffman. Perhaps I need to change my water filter. In any case, brewed in a gaiwan, this yields a dark, silky smooth liquor, with a faint smell of wet autumn leaves. But that’s it. It’s far too faint. I’m constantly reminded of a public bath house for some reason, from a long-ago visit to Korea in my childhood. I wonder why. After my sixth steep I start to get an unpleasant feeling in my stomach, and a bit of nausea. The big, blackish wet leaves shimmer in an interesting way, though barely any of them open up even after 10 steeps. They’re still a bit crumbly. I rub one between my fingers and only get the same faint wet leaves smell. If I ever fill out a mail order for tea from the Phoenix Collection, I might consider throwing a unit of this in, just to give it another try. The numerical rating I give this tea doesn’t show the whole picture, but it’s foolish to try to be objective about something as experiential, ephemeral, and personal as tea, so I choose a rating that represents my own personal experience.

I sourced this tea directly from The Phoenix Collection (http://thephoenixcollection.com) and find it to be the strongest of the pu-erh stock I currently have…Earthy and fragrant, only a few leaves are required to brew a dark and dirty flavor.