Master Han's Ten Year Aged Reserve Sheng

I’ve tried to be open about my tea journey. I am still a beginner, and one tea that has intimidated me is Sheng Pu’er.

Why?

I look at a package of Sheng and feel like I’ve been called into the Principals office! (Some people feel this way about ALL Pu’er!)

Because I’m such a chicken, I took a sample of this to share with Joe on Tuesday because nobody would be at the tea shop in the morning. He loves Sheng! (And he would do all the serving)

Steep 1 and 2 were 10-15 seconds long.

The leaves smelled musty like damp concrete.

Steep one tasted thick and salty like whipped butter. I felt a cooling sensation in my mouth but Joe didn’t. (We hurried on)

The second steep was “black-teaish’ (not proper English but I’m quoting) and sweet vanilla-nut. We felt nut oil instead of butter that was a blend of brazil nut and cashew, adding sweetness and some creamy body.

Joe over-steeped the third round at 20 seconds…yuck! This one smelled very sweet like paste, and was super astringent…blech!

Steeps 4-5 were Savory…like dark meat chicken and potato skin. The sweetness and fattiness were gone.
(This was still tasty tea, but the 3rd long pour stripped some of the flavor out.)

We stopped at this point, one of my better experiences with Sheng Puer!

So many prior Shengs have been young, smoky (and somewhat harsh!).
Master Han’s Sheng had body with complex flavor, creamy texture and black-tea quality. I liked it!

The only way to get over being afraid of tea, is to drink it.

Tea of the Month Reserve Club – February

It’s been awhile since I drank Sheng. It’s been 11 days.
Sheng is one of those teas that takes time. The flavors are subtle. You can’t just brew it & drive around running errands. If you did, you wouldn’t appreciate what it has to offer. Plus, Sheng tends to be high in mind-blowing chaqi, & for me, it’s better to enjoy when I’m just hanging out, teaching & relaxing. Which is what I’m doing this afternoon.

Dry, this tea smells a little musty & woodsy, like alfalfa in a cedar chest. The color is gray/green with tan highlights.
The wet leaf smells more of cedar, with a tart citrus aroma.

5G + 4oz (rinse) X 6 seconds
Some shengs (the younger ones I guess) can be very intense & in your face, but the flavor of this sheng is very mellow & mild. Early on there was the tongue-tingling sensations, a vague bitterness that I like, & a very clean & clear resinous flavor. This gradually evolved into an almost citrus like essence, nice & bright.

I love the way I feel right now: clear, clean, alert, intuitive.
One of my adult students was coming for his lesson, & right before he arrived I felt I should brew him a cup of Meditative Mind, a blend from The Tea Spot of white tea, green jasmine pearls, & Rose buds. It’s a beautiful tea & felt right for him. He arrived, stressed, & loved it.

Well I figured that i should try and give at least ONE of my reserve club teas a try. I figure if i can hit one a week, then each month i’ll actually get around to trying all 4 that i receive. Though they’ll be some overlap since canada delivery means i don’t get my order until halfway through the month. That being said, i still have january and february to get through lol

So i’m 98% certain i’ve never had a sheng before. I’m also fairly certain that my gaiwan skills can use a little honing. However, practice makes perfect! This tea not only smells like “up north” but the first tasting of this reminds me of liking a cedar chest. Not that i’ve done that before, but it tastes like i imagine doing that would. It’s a delicious mellow flavour that is a pleasure to drink.

Edit: really enjoying the steeps of this one as they progress. A wonderful afternoon tea for some reflection.