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“First take on a mini (7g). Brewed gongfu in a 170ml teapot (unglazed Jingdezhen clay interior) on boiling. Rinsed ~10s to open the leaves 1st steep (~20s) is a dark amber, but not as dark as shous...” Read full tasting note
“(7g mini) It’s an old forest. The bark of the trees are dark and wizened with age and tempered by the elements. Much of it has been decayed, some by moisture and rot, and some by fire. ~ Super...” Read full tasting note
“I tried it grandpa, 3 grams from the chunk and it was surprisingly easy to pry; so I have just “opened the chunk” if you know what I mean. Steeped for quite long. I haven’t checked; but I assume...” Read full tasting note
“Tried only in granpa and it was wonderful. I’ll try it also in gongfu” Read full tasting note
Our 2022 Camphornought is a wallop of woody flavors and low toned aromas in a thick bodied, smooth tea. There is a slight touch of bitterness inside the burly forest of flavors and even a light faded smoke in the backdrop. If you’re the type who enjoys whisky or a pipe on the porch, Camphornought is the shou Puer version of that.
First take on a mini (7g). Brewed gongfu in a 170ml teapot (unglazed Jingdezhen clay interior) on boiling.
Rinsed ~10s to open the leaves
1st steep (~20s) is a dark amber, but not as dark as shous can typically get.Mostly getting the camphor note – its a very woody shou, the backdrop is mostly typical shou notes
2nd steep (~40s) is a proper shou dark amber, not quite full darkness, but close. Camphor notes still reigning, but the flavor has deepened a bit, as expected on a second steep – notes of camphor and mid-ferment puerh
3rd steep (~45s, ~120ml) is about as dark maybe a bit darker. Spicier notes are coming out with a retained solid camphor
4th steep (~50s, ~120ml) – slightly lighter, I think I should increase the time on the next round. camphor and spice notes still up front
5th steep (~70s, ~120ml) – Similar notes, spicy notes have subsided, giving way to a more leathery note
6th steep (~90s, ~120ml) – back to a color slightly lighter than first steep. Mostly leather and camphor at this point, a bit light on taste
7th steep (long time 5-7min, full water) – decided to kill off the steep here, FWIW my teapot is a bit of a higher leaf/water than typical gongfu, so I tend to have less overall steeps since I brew a tad longer, but the volume works out about the same. Final notes: color is darker, a bit less than the darkest steep. The leather note has become dominant, with camphor behind it, and the rest of the typical shou notes pretty light in the background.
Bonus: I gave my GF a cup of steep 4 and 5 – she said it tasted like “a leathery chair in an old cabin, but in a good way” :)
Overall, a solid puerh that isn’t really on the bready side like a lot of shou I’ve had, which is a nice change of pace. I wasn’t blown away by it, but it was quite enjoyable. Bit lighter on the fermentation as well, but not at all like a young-mid sheng
Flavors: Camphor, Leather, Smoke, Woody
(7g mini)
It’s an old forest. The bark of the trees are dark and wizened with age and tempered by the elements. Much of it has been decayed, some by moisture and rot, and some by fire.
~
Super punchy, very earthy and woody with some sort of light smoke element. It’s like W2T’s Lumbersl*t’s older brother. The one that’s in a biker gang and beats people up.
Flavors: Earthy, Smoke, Woody
I tried it grandpa, 3 grams from the chunk and it was surprisingly easy to pry; so I have just “opened the chunk” if you know what I mean.
Steeped for quite long. I haven’t checked; but I assume around 4-5 minutes and I had a great cup of tea.
Quite strong, wet forest floor aroma and taste, along with camphor and I noticed also petrichor (okay, that was maybe the enviroment as in meantime rain came). All covered in somehow lovely sweet smoky element and molasses as Roswell Strange notices in 2021 vintage.
