Brewed in: small gaiwan, about 1/3 leaves
Steeped: 10s rinse, followed by around 12 infusions (didn’t keep good count), at near boiling for first few, then lower.
Cup: Small porcelain tasting cup
Yesterday I finally received my order from Teacuppa, after almost a full month of waiting. The package must have gotten held up in customs, because one end was open when I finally got it. But everything was there, including two teas I ordered and two puerh samples as well. As usual, I decided to try one of the samples first, and opened the one marked “Blue Mark Puerh”. I found the complete name and year on the web site this morning.
So last night I decided to just “drink tea” rather than focusing on notes, pictures, and such. I prepared a tea tray with my new gaiwan, pitcher, one of the new cups and a teapot of boiling water, and settled into my chair in front of the TV (we were watching an old movie). It was only after the session that I decided to take a few pictures, since I did really enjoy the tea. The dry leaves pictured are what I have left, the wet leaves are the ones I brewed up last night. The "setup" picture is my new teaware, with the exception of the stash teapot I used to hold hot water.
The taste of this tea wasn’t really all that special – it was quite light and sweet, and notably not bitter like the young puerhs that I have on hand. The liquor also wasn’t anything special – it was thinner than I would have expected. The difference with this tea was purely one of sensation – I actually experienced that camphor-like quality with this tea, and was just the slightest bit light-headed towards the end of the session and into the evening. I believe only one of the puerh’s I have presented those qualities when I was tasting them, and I really did enjoy the overall experience with this particular sample. 
Now if young puerh should be bitter to age well, this one may not be so great in a few years. It’s astringent – more so towards the last infusions, but not bitter in the least. But it is very pleasant to drink right now, and I’m very tempted to spend the $35 for a beeng when I get paid. It left me very satisfied, and with a good feeling afterwards, and it would be interesting to try it side-by-side with others that I have. I have a little bit left of the sample, and will try it again before I decide. 
Hey, wasn't this one of the puerhs in the TeaCuppa tasting Hobbes organized?
ReplyDeleteI went back and looked at the blogs, and yes, it is! Interesting how divergent my tastes are from everyone else's, it seems. Most (if not all) of the comments were not really favorable, but I found it quite interesting and worth another look.
ReplyDeleteSuch is the way of tea - different for everyone, I guess. :-)