I have a been a bit spoiled with my Shu puerh consumption, so I am difficult to please. I wish to state this at the beginning, so if you’re a different Shu drinker than I, please disregard my harsh words. As I stated, I am very picky with my Shu consumption, for I have heard too many horror stories of the disgusting lake bile out there categorized as the “ripe”. This is a gong ting loose, so I didn’t go in with absurdly high expectations. The description reads “smooth, clean, and does not require a rinse”. I will disagree firmly with all three counts. First, I do not know of many Shu puerhs (or puerhs in general) that should ignore a rinse. Second, this was a very harsh drink. Third, a prominent cloudy factor and dirty notes were constantly encountered. Now, into some more details:
The dry leaf is small and tippy with a slight aroma of fresh soil, minerals, and minor cocoa. I warmed my yixing and scooped the bits inside. I washed the leaves and began my brewing as usual; however, I used flash steeping, for this leaf did not need the extra time to open up, for it was loose leaf. The initial flavor was brandishing and drying on the tongue. I would put it as bittersweet heavy dark cocoa. The brew was coarse and chalky. I thought maybe it was my water, so I changed and cleaned the kettle quickly, and I reboiled a fresh pot. Turns out, it was not my water. The brew continued in a simple statement of dirty tasting. The drink was very harsh to get down, but it wasn’t a pleasant harsh such as: leather, mineral, or dark wood; rather, it was just plain dirty tasting. I kept brewing, for maybe it was going to improve. I experienced a slightly decent period around the fourth steeping when the harsh features tuned down and it was of the earthy Menghai profile Shu; however, the next steep brought this back into the Sahara dryness category. I then gave up soon after. This might be Shu for someone that likes the extreme Shu, but I am not in that group of drinkers. I have had some bitter Menghais before, but this one takes the bing (cake, get it lol).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRbg57CAZek/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en
Flavors: Dirt
I knew someone was bound to notice when started cutting our gong ting with dirt to save costs…
I’m kidding, of course, but still sorry you had an unpleasant experience with it!
This one might get better with a few years on it.