So after having a nice little conversation with Sarsonator, I decided to break open one of my many puerh samples from TeaVivre. She recommended a pseudo-gong fu method of combining three steeps into one mug and then repeating that. The dry leaves are in small chunks and flakes from being broken off of a cake. The color ranges from dark evergreen to slightly purple. Dry scent is rather strong smoke, which surprised me! Also eucalyptus or menthol and slightly mushroom notes.
So, I did a 10s rinse. Then 10s, 15s, 20s steeps combined into one cup. After that I did 30s, 40s, and 50s combined. I found then to be quite similar so I’m just going to consider both cups as one experience.
Brewed aroma was pretty much the same as dry, but much milder on the smoke and methol. The taste was much lighter than I expected it to be. There’s a mild hay or grassy flavor that forms the base, and I can definitely see the “barnyard” descriptor here, but in a good way. The smoke and the menthol hit at the back of my tongue and throat, along with a slight peppery taste. All three are quite mild. There’s a definite dried fruity flavor, comparable maybe to dried apricot or prune.
I got an interesting tingly feeling in my mouth that I wasn’t expecting! I wasn’t sure whether I enjoyed it or not, to be honest. It somewhat made my tongue feel like I’d eaten too many sour candies… And I could definitely feel it making a difference in my heart rate and a little bit in my head. Interesting! Now my chest kind of hurts, so not sure what that’s about…
Thanks Sars for all the advice! :) I’m really unsure how to rate this, so I guess I’ll just go for it?
Flavors: Dried Fruit, Eucalyptus, Grass, Hay, Menthol, Mineral, Mushrooms, Pepper, Smoke
I’m not expert, but I kinda know what I like :)
I enjoy the tongue tingle. It may not be for everyone! Feel free to join me on the sheng side as often as you like!!!!