Second tasting of the day is the Chrysanthemum Mini Toucha Pu’erh from Teavivre. I tried one of the other pu’erh’s from this sample pack the other day, and it was lovely, so I had high hopes for this.
I started this tea like the other with 2 quick rinses. I then did a 5-8 second steep for the first real steep and got a light clear brown liquor. It was absolutely heavenly, caramel, floral, smoke and sweet and just mixing wonderfully with none of the off aromas of some ripes. This tea was well rested and ready to drink. The second infusion was a little better, and I did that one for like 4 seconds, just water in , leave it for a 3 count and then out, and it was slightly darker than the first.
The third and fourth infusions, I poured the water in and out as fast as I could, and I got a dark almost coffee colored liquor that was quite strong. This one was a little too intense for my tastes, but I expected this as this is fairly normal in compressed ripes, as the leaves open up and suddenly burst out with flavor and aroma.
The fifth infusion was slightly stronger to the second and was by far the best.. strong, but not overly so, lovely aroma and taste. Slightly sweet aftertaste at this point as well.
I havent gotten past this but I expect a slow release and even with increasing steep time, to get slightly less and less potent, but I expect to get at least 8-10 infusions , probably more if Im in the mood for a less intense tea later in the day.
I highly recommend this one for value and taste.
Flavors: Caramel, Floral, Oak, Smoke, Sweet
