2011 Pure Mengsong Raw Puerh Tea

I did not really enjoy this tea. It had a fishy taste and a bitterness that lingered on my pallet.

I don’t think I used enough leaf! this is so weak… on the first steep it came out as I would expect a seventh or eighth steeping to be.
Then again, I’m a little under the weather so probably can’t taste the subtle notes all that well.
From what I can taste, the pu-erh is very mild, a little earthy, but not fishy at all. There is a mild sweetness that I’m getting but that could be my cold (when I’m sick, I can’t taste spices but everything has a sugary tinge to it)
Oh and I added a tiny bit of white sugar to bring that out. Ok so I know I said in another post that there was only one perk to being sick, but I guess this is more a flip side of not being able to taste spices haha.
Anyhow, I won’t rate this now… I’d rather give a proper review when I can trust my senses more :)
(though I’d rate this particular tea experience an 83)

Thank you Jerry Ma, this is indeed quite lovely!

This is the third of five samples given by China Cha Dao. The dry leaf is beautiful. First impression is this is the longest leaf of any tea I have used to date. It smells fresh and green. The color range of the leaf is from dark green to almost white.

Used my typical western approach. 2g of tea. Water is same temp as I typically use for my greens. Heat the water to just boiling, turn off, wait until the pot grows silent. Seems to work. Did a swirling wash with a few ounces and poured off.

First drinking steep at about 30 seconds. The wet leaf smells of fresh hay – a great smell to a country boy. Now that the leaf has relaxed, I can see that the length is due to the inclusion of stems. The brew is pale yellow-green and very clear. With the first sip I immediately notice that slightly sticky lip feel that I get with other puerhs. This is followed by a spectacular slightly earthy green tea flavor. Zero bitterness. I did not notice any fishiness the others mentioned. This is a light and mellow but not boring puerh. Halfway through the first cup I can tell you I love this. I could drink this all day long. Oh wait, with multiple steeps I may be able to drink it for two days! Woot!

I had 4 cups of this today and each was very similar to the last.

On the first steeping the scent is very light… almost not there.

It is sweet with a refreshing quality. I’m not well versed in Pu-Erhs, but have tried a fair number and this is different from any I’ve had so far.

It is a bit grassy, but not in an over-powering or putting-off way… Just clean and vegetal. There’s a little of that earthy, almost fishy, flavor at the bottom of the sip but not At All as strong as in other Pu-Erhs I’ve had. Instead it’s gentle and rounds out the flavor some.

Second Steep: The earthy/lightly fishy scent has started to come out. A sweetness, too.

This is still green, but more earthy with that slight sweetness still there. A tiny bit of astingency is coming out, too.

Third Steeping: The scent is a bit more earthy with that light fishyness coming out. Not strong like other Pu-Erhs I’ve had. This is still a very light tea.

The flavor is lighter this time, I feel. Earthy with a touch of green. No sweetness now.

I won’t go on any further about the steepings; I think what I wrote gives a good introduction to this tea. It is a bit green, a bit earthy, a bit sweet… how much and what depending on the steep. It is a Very light and refreshing Pu-Erh, not like anything I’ve tried before.

This may be a buyer. I’ll find out after a few more steepings, probably.

So this is my third puerh I have drank. The other two where dark in liquor color and very strong right off the bat. To my delight this was completely opposite. I put a table spoon in my gaiwan, and it opened me up to a different experience.
It is vegetal and smooth compared to what I have had in the past. Golden yellow in color and the characteristic “fish” taste and smell is subtle.

on to the next puerh in the box :)