ZH90: Ancient Forest Green Pu-erh

I haven’t been drinking much pu-erh lately, I think when the weather is bright and sunny I am definitely into lighter teas. But, when you live in San Francisco it seems like you are never more than a week away from more dreary fog.

I have a lot of pu-erh but this sample caught my attention when they said it tastes like a gunpowder tea. I had to steep this regular infuser mug method.

In any case — yum! Gunpowder indeed. This is a very assertive, bold tea with quite a smoky/woodsy element and a lemony “tang”. There is a bit of sweetness present, but the finish is definitely a bit astringent and palate cleansing. I think this would be a great tea to have with savory food.

For the second steep I am getting slightly more sweetness and less smoke than the first. My cup is a dark yellow and very fragrant. This is definitely a powerful, invigorating tea. The year of production was 1995, so this has a few years on it already.

I do have a lot of green pu-erhs but only one of them is a loose leaf. I am enjoying this a lot and am adding it to my Upton wish list for future reference.

I was pleasantly surprised with this one. It brewed up to an orange hue after 3 minutes and it has that intoxicating and mysterious Sheng energy that I love. I for whatever reason cannot place any particular flavor other than SHENG. Sheng is what it is. I am sure as with most Sheng this will be steeped multiple times even after a long initial steep. This is a winner and the price is resonable. It compares with some of the finest that I have had.

Birthday ==> shipment of teas!

How can you go wrong with “ancient forest”?

This is an unusual leaf. I’ve never seen sheng leaf that looks like this.

Excellently, this lack of the every day translates into the cup, as well. A thick, brothy cup is easily achieved and the flavor profile is bold and bright without being too wooly or sharp.

I picked this up on a whim as I was placing an order and I’m glad I did.

It has been raining for a week solid and forecasted for a week more (when did I get transported to Seattle) and this is a great “cozy” cup.