2008 Yong Pin Hao Brick Ripe

This is a tasty tea with earthy notes and I think notes of dark chocolate. Other reviewers have said mushrooms, I didn’t find these but then again I wasn’t really paying attention. Dark chocolate notes are easy to spot and fairly common in earthy shou. The tea broth is rich and thick with I think what you would describe as a good mouthfeel. It was a bit more earthy than expected but then again I used more tea than usual by about a third. In any case this tea is an excellent value. I think I only paid $18.

I brewed this tea seven times in a 207ml Taiwan Clay Teapot with 9.5g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a long rinse to break up the tea and gave it a ten minute rest. I steeped it for 10 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 30 sec, 1 min, and 2 min. Judging by the strength of the seventh steep I would guess that this tea had at least five more steeps in it had I wanted to continue.

Just got a brick of this in from Mandala Tea a couple days ago. I’ve been drinking this gong fu all weekend in 3 different sessions. Started off with 7 grams for 15 seconds in 100 ml and was a little underwhelmed so I boosted it up to 8 grams for 30 seconds in 100 ml. It was a good idea to be a little more aggressive.

This tea doesn’t give a ton of steeps but it comes through when it counts! I get bittersweet chocolate and I love the suggestion of burnt caramel by TheTeaFairy. This is a great dark shou that I think will help me get through the fall until I can splurge on pu-erhs near Christmas time.

EDIT: Tried this earlier today in my new gaiwan and it seemed to have longer legs than I thought. I used 7 grams in 90 ml water and I got a decent amount of steeps out of it. I started at 10 seconds and built slowly from there. Still super delicious.

My door is open tonight…it’s raining, there’s a cool breeze coming in, carrying the scent of the forest. Piney, earthy, and mossy.

Perfect night to break a nice chunk of this brick.

Using 8g for 5oz yixing clay pot.

This is my kind of shou. Sweet and syrupy. Rich and dark. Burnt caramel.

I get raisin and mushroom notes. Not overly complex, just smooth and delicious.

It’s really tasty and I get a nice vibe out of it, it’s making me all relaxed and at peace.

On a funny note, when my 4 year old godson asked what I was drinking the other day, I answered pu instead of pu’erh, knowing fully well it would be easier to pronounce for him.

The thing is in French, “pu” means stinky. The little munchkin giggled so hard, he cried. And now his parents just love me…cause he keeps saying over and over again «auntie drinks pu, auntie drinks pu…» and thinks it’s the most hilarious thing ever.

So Pu is not only good for you, it’s makes little children giggle.

Happy Sunday everyone :-)

Pic of the session:

http://instagram.com/p/ryOnqowh5x/

http://instagram.com/p/ryPSViQh7K/