This mini tea cake was made by high-level material made from broad-leaved wild tea trees. Traditional court recipe.
The vintage year is 2002, which is over 10 year now.
Please one piece tiny tea cake into a Gaiwan or Zi Sha Pot each time.
My Review:
Today has the potential to be the best day ever. Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but I do have high hopes. When I got to work I was directed into my parking space by the mill super acting as a flagman. He was hilarious. I got to my office only to find a Sausage McMuffin on my desk. “Nothing but the best value menu items for my buddies”, I was told. Then another coworker wheeled in two coolers. That means he smoked something awesome last night and we are all eating a most excellent lunch. The boss is gone and so is his number 1. I can get a lot done when they are out of the office! Is this a good day or what? AND I get to drink a 2002 ripe puerh today, courtesy of Esgreen! I know, amazing right? Maybe, I am not exaggerating about the day.
I unwrapped the cute little cake to get a good look. It is really solid and very dark with some golden bud appearance. I placed it in the bottom of my press and added boiling water. I know this is intended to be brewed at around 4oz at a time. I am brewing a hearty 12oz mug. I did not do a wash. I added a tiny amount of water first to see if there was a foul odor. There was not, so I skipped the rinse. Why waste tea?
Esgreen says to use a 20 second steep, adding 10 seconds for each additional cup. With their method this will go six steeps. I steeped for a little over a minute, because that’s how I roll. The brew was a little light on the top and dark at the bottom. I gave it a gentle swirl and it mixed nicely. The color was burgundy, like wine, in the press. It looks darker and more chocolate caramel in the mug. I can smell horse tack! Is this a good day or what?
The sip is extremely mellow. There is the slightest tongue tingle but mostly this is just smooth. The gentle sip flows right into an amazing leather aftertaste. I am only a couple of sips in to the cup and I already notice a nice cooling affect on my breath. This first cup is a nice simple sip with a great aftertaste. I also like the no fuss simplicity of the single serve cakes. Oh, and it was the perfect compliment to a Sausage McMuffin.
On cup two, I had set the timer for one minute but got sidetracked. I have no idea if it was one minute or four. The brew was inky the moment the water hit the leaf. It still has a burgundy tint. This mug is so good. It starts leather, then briefly melts into oak and cinnamon, then drifts back into a horse tack aftertaste. I had this three-fourths gone before I realized what I was doing. I just couldn’t put it down. This is gentle in the sense there are no rough edges, but it is intense with flavor. Did I mention this is good?
Cup three at two minutes looks a little more like black tea when poured but maintains a deep caramel orange red color. The nose is still so amazing. The taste is a lighter version of cup two.
Cup four continues with good flavor of leather and now the wood and spice are a little more pronounced.
The fifth cup was still enjoyable though the leaf has lost its strength. Yes, I could have gotten six their way. You know what? I am perfectly happy with it the way I brewed it.
This is a wonderfully tasty puerh mini that went perfectly with my most awesome day.
Visit the Esgreen website
Hooray for awesome Fridays!
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