China Pu-Erh Boxed Mini Squares ZH10

28/01/2013
my first pure pu-erh.

i did a quick steep for just about 5 sec, and then one long one for 5 min.
then i just did more and more steeps for maybe 4 to 5 min each. until the liquid got pale. i was too lazy to look up what the PROPER way to steep this is. also i have 3 more squares to work with.

03/29/2013
this is a good pu-erh. i need to thank davidstea for making such awful pu-erh because it gives me a valuable reference to know what good pu-erh is. i mean heck! this tiny square probably isn’t even near the best. (i actually like the mini cake i had yesterday even more, and i’m glad i accidentally ordered 2 samples of it.) but this tiny square is not without it’s charm.

i had to let it rinse/steep for more than just 10-20 seconds, cuz the square is packed very tight and it took a while to break up in the water. and i know the point of a rinse is a rinse, but i drank the rinse anyways. and then my second steep was 1 minute. which i know is longer than it should be. my third steep was about 45 seconds. and i did a few more short steeps after that. all in my tiny glass gong fu.

My first pu-erh! I’ve been very excited for this moment. All the descriptions of it sounded exactly like something I’d like, given my inclination for smells of musty basement, dirt and wet leaves.

Smelled like wet leaves in the bag, the rinse stage brought out much more of a, what my mother aptly described as, “bike tire air” smell. I know some people brew this gongfu style but I was kind of lazy about that. I used half a french press of water for one square, poured out some of the water at 45 seconds for a first taste. Yep, taste like bike tire air. But not unpleasantly! After the 4 minute-ish mark I poured the rest of it into my cup. My mother uncharitably described it as “still bike tire with some outhouse mixed in.” I had more positive connotations of decomposing log and musty shrooms. Pretty much exactly what I’d expect old wet tea leaves to taste like, but in the best possible way.
there’s some bitterness too that I noticed more as the tea cooled, but it’s not overpowering or harsh. It actually goes well with the earthy taste. A second steep brought out more earthy flavors and the rubbery tire taste was much less perceptible. Third steep is starting to lose intensity, but is still enjoyable.

Definitely looking forward to my next pu-erh experiences!

Brews up a pretty dark brown. Smells and tastes pretty earthy and robust. It’s fun watching the blocks expand in the hot water.