Xiaguan Puer Tea Cake 2011

Dry leaf: High compression; dark and smoky.
Wet leaf: Thick smoke; fruity; concentrated herbyness. Small leaves – possible plantation material.
Notes: This tea was removed from Dragon Tea House shortly after I ordered it.

The rinse was darker than usual. I could smell smoke when rinsing the leaves.

5s – Light brown liquor. Smells a bit smoky. The smoke is strong, but it is in the background. This isn’t particularly smooth as the flavour drops of early; the smoke lingers.
10s – Light brown liquor. Strong with tobacco smoke.
15s – Darker brown liquor. Tobacco on the sip. There is a surprisingly bright sweetness that gives light to the smoke.
20s –Medium brown liquor. Smoke is still there. There is a nice action with bitterness and the sweet finish. Liquor is thin.
25s – The bitterness is sparkling on the darker base with tobacco smoke in the background.
30s – Ligher brown. Base sheng taste – end of the session.

My 50 gram sample is composed of two small chunks and the rest, the other 80% is dust/tiny pieces of the cake. This suggests to me Dragon Tea House do not take this cake seriously. I found the tea quite boring and do not recommend it. According to the website this tea is no longer available!