Tea and Zen

This is part of my Sample Demolition: Verdant Tea series. 

Puerh is a fairly unexplored world to me. I've had it on a few occasions and thought it was rather pleasant.
Because of the fact I have not had the pleasure of tasting a large variety of puerh, take this particular review with a grain of salt.

About 10g of dry leaf

Upon opening the bag I was met with a very sweet, yet pleasantly earthy aroma. The sweetness was strong enough that I could taste it on my tongue. Since I did not buy a whole cake I was expecting them to have already make the cake into loose leaf, but it was not, so I had to break up one of the chunks that were inside. It wasn't a big deal, but it was a surprise. I was very excited to try the cake.

Here I used 5g/120ml and 95C water. I rinsed twice before enjoying my first cup. I added 10 seconds to each additional brewing.

Cups 1-4

Leaves during the 4th brewing. I now see why it is sometimes called "green" puerh.

It was very, very pleasant. The mouthfeel was very smooth with a light, but not abrasive astringency. You're first met with a spicy taste, like that of new wood. In the aftertaste your tongue is washed over with a very sweet, jasmine-like taste mingled with elderberries, and at the back of my throat, raspberries. The finish is very long and it goes down your throat very smoothly.

For the third and fourth cup the sweetness in the aftertaste began to die down slightly, and the woodiness had a more prominent flavor. The liquor was more astringent, but not unbearably so.

Leaves after the 4th brewing

Cups 5-7

In the fifth cup the woodiness died down considerably. You could still taste it, but it wasn't nearly as potent. The raspberry flavors began to linger across the sides of my tongue and inch forward from the back of my throat. The elderberry was less apparent, and the jasmine-like flavor was just as strong as the first cup.
In the sixth, now that the woodiness was gone, a different flavor began to show up in the aftertaste. It reminded me of dark, old wood. Not quite rotting, but it wasn't a very pleasant taste. It was stronger than the previous, lovely floral and sweet tones. My friend described it as tasting like a 9 volt battery.

Liquor

In the seventh almost all flavor was gone. I could still taste the jasmine, but that is all that remained.

Several hours after I had finished this tea, the raspberry sweetness still clung to the back of my tongue. It wasn't until I shared a TieGuanYin with a friend of mine that the sweetness left, and was replaced by the TGY (which was outstanding, I must say).

Various wet leaves after brewing for show of quality

Rating

Overall I thought this was a reasonable tea, I liked it even though it wasn't anything particularly special. I give it a 5, my friend gave it a 2. If it weren't for the unpleasant aftertaste that begins to show up in the 6th cup, I'd have given it a 6 and they would've given it a 3. It didn't blow my mind away so it wasn't anything ground breaking to go tell your friends how fantastic it was, but it wasn't bad. It was a little above average, but not deserving enough of a six. If I were to continue to buy tea from Verdant Tea, which I will not be (for details refer to the Sample Demolition: Verdant Tea link above) it's something I'd buy again.

If you are interested, you can purchase this tea here.

This is part of my Sample Demolition: Verdant Tea series.

Dry leaf

This is the first time I've ever tasted Shu. In the past when I've had Puerh it's always been Sheng. This being so, I am surprised how crumbly this Shu is compared to Sheng? I don't know if that is normal or not, but it is what it is. I was met with a lightly, smokey scent mingled with something sweet that reminded me of Elderberries and honey or vanilla. Those two notes have been popping up a lot in the tea I'm drinking lately regardless of the type/origin. Honey and/or honeysuckle is very common, but elderberries, not as much.

Anyway, I wasn't sure what to expect other than a Lapsang-like flavor with a hint of the aforementioned.

I was pretty close.

Liquor

Since Puerh is a fairly unexplored area for me, take this review with a grain of salt, especially considering this is the first time I'm trying Shu, at least I've had Sheng before.

I rinsed the leaves twice, 100C water, and 5g/120ml, 20sec for the first steep and added 10sec to each additional brewing.

Cups 1-5

The first cup did remind me of Lapsang Souchong, but less potent. I've never been a huge fan of that tea, but it wasn't bad here. The elderberry and vanilla/honey from the aroma was evident in the taste. It was a little woody, reminded me of oak with a hint of nutmeg. The mouthfeel was very smooth with a light astringency. So far, nothing to hoot about.

The second cup was the same. This wasn't a good sign since usually, when a tea doesn't begin to improve on the second or third, it's "meh." That's how I've felt from the beginning.

In the third cup, the smokiness increased a little but that was about it. The sweetness lingers on the sides of my tongue and the back of my throat. It's not very often that sweetness will cling to the top of my pallet at the back of my throat, but it did here.

The fourth and fifth were yet again the same.

Steeping leaves

Cups 6-10/Rating

Since I wasn't getting much from +10 seconds, I began to add 15s.

It didn't help. At this sixth cup it was still exactly the same as the first cup. This is when I finalized my decision that this tea was "okay." Very average. I'd give it a 5. It's not bad, but there is nothing special about it either. Needless to say, the following four cups were basically the same. I think it's nice that it made it through 10 brewings. But, it had very little complexity as it's flavor remained the same, the flavors didn't mingle with each other much, the body was nothing special to me, the aroma was sub-par (but not bad), and the tea never flowered into anything worth mentioning.

Wet leaves

Perhaps if I had used 5g/50ml this tea would've been better, perhaps not. The world may never know. The website recommends 4g/150ml so I feel it is safe to assume no.

Before tossing the leaves I did a few cold brewings. Not bad iced. I actually liked it better this way, though just as with the hot, it tasted the same, except I was able to pick up on notes of nutmeg.

If you're interested in buying this tea, you can purchase it here.