Puerhshop, 2004 Old Youle Ripe Pu-erh Tea Brick

PuerhShop Description:
This brick was made of old arbor leaves from Youle mountain. Be prepared to be impressed by its mellow, smooth, sweet taste, and that beautiful wine color. The best tasting brick we got in 2010 - easily beat up what's the name: Dayi.

My Review:
A very generous sample of this was given to me by a friend. The leaf in the sample I got was loosely pressed. It came apart with little effort.

I used about 5g (a typical American tea bag holds 2g) and steeped it in my press with boiling water for 30 seconds. Unless there is something funky about the tea I never do a rinse and dump like a lot of people. Instead, I generally leave the leaf in the bottom of the press for a few moments before steeping, as the press is already warm and wet from rinsing. This in most cases is enough to awaken the leaves.

The wet leaf is very dark and musty/earthy in scent. Very much a ripe puerh aroma. The color of the liquor is light orange like sun tea. I at first thought I under steeped but later cups all came out this color. The last cup I prepared with a four minute steep, intentionally trying to turn this inky but it never happened. In my limited puerh experience, I found that interesting.

The tea tastes nothing like the scent. The Puerh Shop nails the description - mellow, smooth, sweet taste. Emphasis on the mellow. This is so easy to sip. For me the main flavor element is what I call horse tack. Sipping it reminds me of the smell of the leather in a horse barn. For me that is a very desirable flavor.

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