Bling Rock Kingpin

Shou puerh is hard to get into, I get it. Not everyone enjoys drinking sweetened mulch and having their teeth irreparably stained. I beg to differ, but I can appreciate this tea type whether it is an ancient from the 1970’s or something new and more radical. Mei Leaf’s Bling Rock Kingpin, the sequel of Gem Juice Outlaw, fits squarely into the latter category. By taking the oddball purple Zi Juan cultivar, which is normally used to make black (purple-black?) tea and subjecting it to the ripening process, the London-based vendor stumbled onto something which can make the most ardent shou hater blush and swoon.

Towing the line between the floral fruity notes of a black and the earthy fermented notes of a shou, this tea impresses with a dynamic range of enjoyable and frankly addictive steeps ranging from thin and floral to soupy and sweet. It shines when its at its strongest, with a liqueur akin to that of a sweet vermouth, strong with grenadine and fig newtons. Not much else to say – this is a classic and a tea that I bought a few cakes of back in its heyday. It is now long gone, replaced with its own sequel in Amulet Majesty which I unfortunately haven’t gotten around to trying yet. If it’s even just half of what this tea offers, then it will be well worth it. A strong dessert tea which works in any season and in practically any circumstance.