Lavender Pu'erh Tea

Woah, this tea is STRONG! I mean, pu-erh is obviously a dense, flavor-packed tea, but I always expect it to be lighter in blends. In fact, the Nature’s Tea Leaf pu blends (oh god that sounds horrible out of context… pu blends…) have been pretty light on that signature flavor to me. Not necessarily in a bad way, but I was not prepared for this!

The tea is so dark and murky, almost coffee-colored. The lavender is quite assertive but the earthy, rich flavor of the base makes it oddly enough a not very floral tea. Woodsy and an almost chicory note? Very tasty but a big pow of flavor and I did get a bit more buzzed from it than I normally do with tea (even though pu is apparently lower in caffeine?). I think this would be a good morning brew! Thanks to Kasumi for the sample.

Loose
Appearance: curled dark grey-brown leaf light blue -grey lavender buds noticeable.
Aroma when Dry: sticky sweet, syrupy, earthy, floral
After water is first poured: dusty sweet floral.
At end of first steep: balanced lavender with slight earthy undertones
Tea liquor:
At end of first steep: purple hued brown
Second steep(about 3 min) flavor: Balanced floral lavender, light woody notes, no sour tang.
Third Steep(2-3 min) flavor: floral. slight bitterness, woody notes deepen again slightly.
Staple? No
Time of day preferred: unsure, likely evening.
Taste:
first notes: floral from the lavender, slight woodiess, followed by an odd tang…then slight sourness
As it cools? Notes mellow a bit, tea gets dustier.
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No.
Lingers? Yes, both the sour/tangy quality, and the lavender stay, but the floral fades quickly.