2021 Lumber Slut

With most of my puerh samples out of the way, it’s time to move on to the cakes I bought. Lumber Slut is a classic in the W2T lexicon, being an affordable shu with heavy woody notes. I chose the 2021 edition of this tea because it was the best selling iteration which was still available. Whether or not this is a true indicator of the quality of the tea to other years, I am not sure, but overall I was pretty impressed. It is a surprisingly drinkable tea, and while its mouthfeel is not as rich as other shus I’ve tried so far, I feel like this is an excellent tea for the relative value.

Brewed gong fu in a 170ml unglazed interior teapot at boiling.

Bought this cake blind based on all the really positive notes on it. Not expecting it to blow my mind, but I don’t mind having a solid shou in my cupboard. The cake smells woody and slightly musty, which concerns me slightly, but thats somewhat common with puer

Rinse: cup aroma after feeding to my tea pets is like a distant campfire, not too smoky though. Liquid is a transparent red-orange

1st steep (15s, ~65% full since the tea hasnt opened yet): still orange-red, not as transparent. Pot aroma is like old books. The tea hasnt opened up yet still, which is apparent in the flavor – shou notes, but a bit wattery

Steep 2 (17s, full): Color deepens to a blackened orange. Not completely opaque, but getting close. Pot aroma is old books and tibetan incense. The flavor is still curiously a bit light. The tea still hasnt fully opened up in the pot, so I think that’s part of it. mostly just distant shou notes, but not really bready at all.

Steep 3 (25s): Color is basically opque black-brown, burnt orange at the edges. I jostled the leaves a bit in the pot with my finger to encourage them to separate a bit before this steep. Flavor is finally remarkable – the musty scent note reveals itsself in flavor, spread amongst maybe a soil and sandalwood with an incense spice. A wood note in the mid level. Not at all bready in contrast to the shou I had yesterday.

Steep 4 (30s, 70% full): Color is a shade lighter, in between steep 3 and 2. Flavor has the wood note coming forward more in this steep. Musty notes have mostly moved to the back. Overall flavor is dark, wood notes (not pine or cedar, maybe oak)

Steep 5 (50s, full): Getting the sense I need to push the tea a bit based on the last color. Wood and incense/sandalwood notes forward here, but flavor has weakened.

Steep 6 (1-2 minutes maybe): Color is a shade lighter still. wood and spicy incense notes forward, no must.

Steep 7 (long time): Color is dark amber, but not as dark as the darkest steep. Considering I let it steep for around 10 minutes, I think the tea is done here. The tasting notes are a bit stronger than the last steep, same wood and incense spice, oak further in the back

Overall: A good non-bready shou, which is nice to have in my stock, but honestly, at least from this first experience, not remarkable. I’m not upset for buying it especially at the price I got it, but I might not have opted for it in search of something a bit more compelling. I saw a lot of people talk about smoke notes, and maybe its because I drink a fair number of actually smoked teas, but I didn’t detect any smoke apart from distant notes in the pot aroma. To be clear its not bad in any way, just I think a bit over hyped in the grand scheme, maybe properly hyped for the price-to-quality ratio if you don’t have a lot of shu already

Wow! Love this one. Next to Yunnan Sourcing’s Green Dragon for my favorites. Strong and reminds me of fresh, healthy compost. Smells so good and woodsy out of the bag too.

Teapot

A nice robust daily drinker that trades blows with factory offerings in the value department.
It features some of the classic chocolate and vanilla robust ripe flavors, but with more of a focus on woody notes, like a spicy oak wood. There is also a slight smokiness and just a touch of pleasant basement funk on some brews. Some of the smokier brews made me think of a campfire or a scented candle. The leaves seem to indicate a high degree of fermentation.
Overall, a well-balanced ripe with a touch of something extra. Not as challenging as the edgy name might suggest.

A clean shou! I got this sample from my recent w2t order, and this tea really is an easy drinker. Beautiful leaves and liquor with a nice, complex aroma. Smooth and clean texture with a longevity that makes this tea last 15-20+ steeps. The flavour is clean and decent, but lacks complexity and nuance. This tea needs some work in the finish & aftertaste department, as well as the cha-qi department too. Overall, a really solid daily drinker especially at that price. A worth it tea.

It is probably a good thing I am not a pu er connoisseur. I’d need a room simply for displaying the wrappers. I might have to start. Oh, gosh. I don’t have proper storage. Stop that before it starts. But it’s difficult. This is a wonderful tea. Many unique notes. Much pu er. So wow. Noodles. Woody. Plywood. Cedar. Noodle water. I really like noodles so I quite enjoy this one. Turning to dark woods. Mahogony. Sticky rice leaves. The longer you steep it, as with pretty much every other Camellia Sinensis, the more the astringency unfolds. Mossy, decaying bark, big log.

Smooth mouth feel. No astringency.

Finish is woody with a feeling of the tongue stuck to the roof of the mouth.

Liquor color starts a clear, dark amber, changes to rosewood, and really thickens intensely to a final opaque umber.

Oh, my word that aroma. I love the smell of old houses. Not like grandma’s house but seriously old houses built from blood, sweat, and tears. Timber, earth, and some type of natural adhesive. Wow.

Geek Steep S2E15 – Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring

Gongfu!

Guys, I didn’t over think my pairing for this week’s fandom. As we talked in depth this episode, I truly believe that pretty much any tea you can possibly think of would be a good pairing for this fandom. It’s so big with so many different elements to it to connect a tea to and they all feel important and have their space to breath.

So, I grabbed a shou to gongfu and just dived right in. It works so well. Just beautifully earthy and robust in a way that feels like it’s speaking to either the deep mines and underground where the dwarves make their home or the magical forests that show up throughout. I had a great time steeping this tea while watching the movie – it’s honestly pretty perfect!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXWp6zwuHuj/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjpgJjdk52c