Aged green pu-erh cake

Gaaaaaaah, Summer head cold.

That’s the last time I shake hands with a child.

Fighting back the congestion with pu-erh.

I can’t taste anything, sadly.

And I have to chant a vespers service this evening alone.

In a recent video with a sheng pu-erh, David of Verdant Teas recommended using less leaf with a sheng than one would use with other teas. This surprised me. Most everyone, especially the hard core yixing people, are all about cramming as much leaf into the pot as they can.

So, I decided to try this leaf again using about half of what I’d been using in the past.

I am now wishing I had my order from Verdant back so I could steep the Farmer’s Coop sheng this way instead of how I did.

Steeped this way, most people wouldn’t find, at least this particular, sheng tea all that unusual. Most of the notes here are similar to lighter black teas, oolongs or Darjeeling type teas. Almost all the wooly, wild, sharp notes I tend to associate with sheng are gone.

Info from RoTea received! Wow, that was fast. Their customer service is kind of awesome.

Second steeping reminds me a great deal of the Pu Er 2002 Naka (Lahu) which I got from CS a few years ago. That taste of hot cabin wood, combined with a deep loam and wet stone.

Again, not for the novice, this. But then, sheng isn’t for the novice in general, come to think of it.

I may have to commit heresy on a later occasion and subject this stuff to a marathon steeping with fresh leaf just to see how the two differ.

Aaaaand we’re back.

I am brewing this up in my brand spanking new gaiwan. Actually I’m brewing it up in my brand spanking new 1 and 2/3’s gaiwan. My sister-in-law got me a gorgeous little number and the first one shipped with a broken saucer, so I have two cups, two lids and one saucer. I’m using the saucerless one to do the steep and strain and I’m drinking from the complete set. (no cups)

So far, this pu-erh doesn’t completely wow me. I want there to be something soft, round and mellow to balance out the sharp notes. Maybe I should wrap it up and age it for a few months or a year.

I’m on something like my 16th steep of this batch of leaves.

I really have to wonder what was going on with this (and other sheng) tea back over the winter when I keep getting such sharp, wooly, camphorous steeps.

Cup after cup this tea has been kind and sweet and I’m still on <30 second steeps.

This tea continues to rise in my esteem. As it has aged a few months it has mellowed considerably. The first steep is still quite sharp, but that’s to be expected, I think. But after the leaves are fully hydrated and opened the resulting steeps are almost sweet.

After my experience with the Wild Arbor last week, it occurred to me that my concerns with this tea maybe were over blown. So, I unpacked it from the storage arrangement I’d created and decided to steep it again.

I’m into the second steeping now and I’m chuckling to myself that just a few weeks ago I thought this tea needed more age. This second steeping is downright soft for sheng — maybe I made some kind of error the last time I made it.

This is actually really good and has encouraged me to re-approach the Wild Arbor with less leaf and more respect.