1997 Raw Loose Leaf Pu-erh Tea - Yunnan Broad Leaf Variety PL97

Wow, this is the oldest raw Pu Erh I’ve drank so far (second oldest was like 2001-2003 vintage), but on the other hand I find mellow ripe Pu Erhs more appealing. Dry leaf looks fascinating – long, twisted with rust-coppery texture and minimal leaf brake. You could tell by its appearance that it wasn’t handled much. With a short hot breath blowing onto leaves I definitely noticed dusty dryness with earthy and mewllow backtone and a floral hint (which was quite surprising).

I’m inexperienced with raw variants and not familiar with water temperature appropriate for brewing it but I read that lower temperature is used for younger raw Pu Erhs and close to boiling for older ones. Since I got a 6-7 gram sample of 1997 vintage I really couldn’t experiment much so I decided that I’ll use 3 grams with 100ml water on 95 Celsius. It would be nice if ESGREEN could provide brewing instrucions.

Infusions: 10, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20, 25, 30, 40, 60, 120, 180

Fifteen years is a lot for loose-leaf Pu Erh when you think about it, there’s got to be a lot dust in it so I rinsed it three times. First infusion was somewhat light half-murky caramel tone with faint aroma and heavy (but nut overpowering) acidic taste and light tobbaco finish. Second infusion seemed to awaken the leaf (maybe I should go for four rinses instead?) and brought out a deeper caramel tone wile giving away of not-so-desired wet and stale notes.

However, I did enjoy it more than first infusion since acidic profile settled a bit and made a way for some new, but faint notes to appear. Liquor is silky on tongue and the same tobbaco finish with addition of tinglinkg sensation on tongue. Third infusion is more of what I anticipated – deeper tone with hint of acid (or should I call it sour?), nice boost on tobbacco followed by just a hint of bitterness and dry finish. After few sips I also noticed that some faint notes of… clay? It reminds me of eating a stew from unglazed clay pots.
On fourth steep is where the party started, clay notes blended with those of tobbacco and it reminded me of some better Pu Erhs I’ve tasted. Fifth infusion brought out the mellowness and previous notes that seemed to be of same magnitude. At this point I noticed that the tea is starting to get hard on my stomach/liver. Suprisingly, sixth infusion brought out some floral notes while vanquishing any remnants of dust, but with less prominent tobacco note.

This is where I called it a day and let the leaves rest on cool place untill the next day. I was later advised by ESGREEN that I shouldn’t have done it. So on day two I rinsed the leaves to awaken them and steep it for 25 seconds, and this being seventh infusion it showed some floral notes binding with hints of mineral and more prominent clay profile. Next infusion brought out more balanced appearance with somewhat nutty aftertaste (this stuff has pocketful of surprises, doesn’t it?). The following four infusion (for total of twelve) were less surprising but enjoyable. This is where I felt that I’m pretty much done
with it.

A leaf with magician’s surprise arsenal.

this green pu-erh is exquisite. the only one that i can think of off hand that i enjoyed more is the same from a 1995 vintage. it’s earthy and robust as you would expect from a pu-erh yet not overwhelming. it’s dynamic in flavor as the bold notes of nut and earth make way for subtle hints of fruit and chocolate and finish off with the green vegetal side of this complex brew. i love this tea!

First cup. Steep 5 minutes.
The taste is like a very clean cup of black tea, similar even to a red rooibos tea, but less sweet. A bit of that old musty aroma common in some pu-erhs. The color is a rich reddish brown, but there is little taste. Honestly, this tea does not do much for me. I added some sugar: no major revelations.

First cup. Second tasting.
The tea proved to be a little more enjoyable at room temperature. With a longer steep and perhaps more sugar or flavoring, I could see this being an admirable iced tea. Though I suppose that defeats the purpose of the Gongfu ceremony traditionally used to brew pu-erh.

Second cup. Steep 10 minutes.
Given that this is a pu-erh, which should yield different tasting notes with each brew (and should be able to withstand multiple steeps), I decided to give this tea another try. Something that was not mentioned in my purely aesthetic review above is that despite the bland taste, this is a strongly medicinal tea with powerful antioxidants. Most medicinal teas have an overwhelmingly spicy or herbal taste, so I think there is something noteworthy in a tea that is very mild but very powerful. Especially if you believe in the weight loss and cholesterol suppression benefits of pu-erh. If you are on a limited diet or a diet consisting of mostly mild food options, the last thing you probably want in a tea is something extremely spicy or sugary-tasting.
Despite all of that, little has changed in my tasting experience with this second cup. There is a slightly more nuanced sweet and smoky tea flavor, but not a huge difference. For getting the most flavor out of this tea, I would suggest doing 1 long steep for up to 15 minutes. And there you have it.