2010 V93 Ripe Pu-erh tea

I cut my teeth on this tuo and well what I can say is that it is the most diplomatic of pu’ers one could ever taste. This is to say that if diplomats are concerned about not offending anybody, then V93 2010 is the diplomat of pu’ers.

I like to cook with this in addition to drinking it mixed with other spices like ginger, dried long-gan, or rosebuds or even piloncillo. I don’t normally take my tea with sugar, mind you. I’ve also noticed that this is a very refreshing tea when drunk cold.

No errant flavors, but the depth of flavor itself seems to wane fairly quickly. I’d say this is a perfect tea for the person who likes to steep their tea for minutes and forget about it. A fine tea, but I cannot think of a time where I actually craved some V93.

This tea is pretty one note. The tea starts out pretty strong, the drops off quickly after the fifth steep. The taste is creamy wood, with some very small fruit undertones. The smell is very standard for a puerh. The tea feels pretty energizing and calming, though. This is something you could drink for breakfast, but not for much else. Would not recommend, as there are much better options for the price point, although it is a pretty decent daily drinker.

The 2010 V93 are hitting a good sweet spot for taste. Nice rich cocoa flavor with some sweetness and pleasant flavors. This is a different tuo from a different source and different batch, so I wanted to compare the two. This one needs a little more time brewing to hit the same flavor notes but it still lasts nicely.

5g, 7ml gaiwan. 98C, 15s rinse.

98C, 10s: Liquid got pretty dark right away. Mildly cooling smell. Standard ripe smells, but maybe some floweriness. Great, chunky mouthfeel. Leaves are still clumped.

98C, 15s: Leaves totally opened up. Still cooling, honey/flowery smell. Some “sour” bitterness, like coffee. Pretty darn dark.

98C, 20s: nice dancing lid during the brew. middle of the road ripe taste in every category.

98C, 25s: definitely some rotten fish. nothing else to be said. most of the other tastes have already deteriorated.

98C, 35s: definitely, definitely rotten fish. I own enough tea that it’s not really worth finishing this one.
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Some energizing qi was definitely there. I guess there’s still some caffeine in this one!

If you’re looking for a middle of the road tea, maybe. But my girlfriend later commented that the tea smelled of rotten fish a whole steeping before I tasted it. If those notes are still around after seven years of aging, I have some trouble recommending this tea. Maybe other years productions were cleaner?

i’m a shou newbie but as far as i can tell this is pretty tasty. kinda bitter in a coffee-like way but mellows out after a couple of steeps. i did three rinses.

notes of earthy wood and fallen leaves. maybe a dark chocolate too.

i like it

Drinking this tonight while cooking up a storm. Bought 2 tuo chas a few weeks ago but never broke into it. V93 seems to be exactly right up my shou alley. I loved the 2011 250 gm tuo cha. This one has a similar sweet taste profile but the flavor is not quite as complex and concentrated. Still, an absolutely wonderful daily drinker

This is my everyday drinker. Really well balanced tea. I agree with the other review that say that this is a ‘diplomatic’ pu erh. If you want to start with ripe pu erh this is the best option to start.
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I have steep it twice today, with 5.35gr of leaves and boiling water in both steps as I’m starting to take notes about my teas to see how they change with time as I have bought during this year some pu erh to age.

7sec: It has some kind of sweetness, with a light astringent afterstaste. Mid body. I can’t identify any concrete note. It’s not complex, but just I can’t find any known note.

9sec: it’s more sweet, light body. The astringent aftertaste is now lighter than in the previous step. I still can’t find any concrete note. Really well balanced.

This is concerning me as I don’t know if it’s me or this tea has ‘no concrete notes’. Maybe someone with a better palate will find some notes but I can’t. I can only indentify sweetness and that astringent/really light bitter aftertaste.

I will continue tomorrow to see how it develops and if I can find any note.