I am excited to write my first review on what some might call "serious tea", Pu-Erh. As someone who drinks tea in a Gongfu style and manner, this is the best and most fitting tea for said style of ceremony, and in many respects, the sign of a well versed and experienced tea enjoyer. I plan on writing a whole post about the different types of teas and how they're made and processed differently from one another, but it should suffice to say that this is a type of tea that is similar to black tea but is aged and fermented after processing. From my experience, it seems this is definitely more of an acquired taste. I have not had luck in acquiring new "fans" of this type of tea when I've made it for guests or friends, likely due to it's strong and unique flavor profile when compared to lighter and fresher types of tea such as green and white, or the chocolaty smokey flavor of blacks and oolongs.
This is my tea cake's packaging. I don't quite remember the exact details of this one, having purchased it back in 2015 or 2016, but I know it was pressed and formed in 2012, making it at time of writing 14 years old! It's also 'ripe' Pu-Erh rather than 'raw', that meaning that it was fermented in an accelerated fashion by having the leaves piled wet rather than being caked and aged dry like 'raw' Pu-Erh. I won't lie, I was not a fan of this tea when I had gotten it, hence it's age, and so have yet to finish it. But, I like to be frugal, and since I have it I might as well review it.
The color is a gorgeous deep red, like the color of stained mahogany wood. The smell is reminiscent of a vintage or curio store, notes of age and time, fermentation. The deep color and oxidized tannins are great for my Ru kiln tea ware, deepening the crazed lines their exhibit, excellent for earning the patina of usage. I love the feature of Ru kiln ceramics that they develop a character and sign of use, I plan on writing about this more in the future, but for now know that the deep color of Pu-Erh is excellent for developing that patina.
The flavor is reminiscent of a forest floor, deep and woodsy, like the smell of last season's leafy foliage as it lays on the forest floor after being revealed in the spring by the melting snow. Slightly astringent, noticeable but not overwhelming. It tastes like the way an old vintage book smells.
As briefly discussed, its not my favorite flavor, but a way to try Pu-Erh, I have two more cakes that I need to trying before I make a solid opinion whether this manner and class of tea is for me. I prefer it certainly over a regular black tea, there's just more flavor and nuance and boldness, but I like it less than a hojicha or sencha or white. It feels as close to as akin to coffee as any tea I've had thus far.
I would rate it a 6.5/10