Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Sample # 2 From Thomas at Tuo Cha Tea


The smell of buttery dry leaves and faint characteristic puerh fill the air. These dry leaves are a mixture of hairy tips mixed with stems and dark brownish whole leaves.


These leaves conjure up a liquor that is a hazy orangey-yellow. The first sip introduces one to a nice balance between soft spicy floral notes, subtle fruity notes, a caramel sweetness, and light bitter and astringency. This flavour is complex, searching for it one looses oneself on the tongue.

This tea appropriately stimulates the tongue and throat as it makes its way into the stomach leaving a cool, fresh, sweet, subtly spicy aftertaste behind. The aftertaste is full and especially nice.


As this tea cycles through infusion after infusion, one ascertains that the fruity taste is akin to melon or maybe peach.

This tea's energy is unforgiving. It hits the guts and stomach excessively hard even when small amounts of tea are used. The energy of this tea pools in the throat and in the lower abdomen. Every time this tea was consumed it left ones throat feeling as if it was constricted by an invisible boa. Phlegm seemed to stagnate there for the remainder of the day.

Consequently, this tea has lots of stamina and can be brewed for several days. In fact, although still a bit harsh, it is best enjoyed on the second day. This tea is made for aging as strong energies require mellowing.


Thanks again Thomas.
Peace

7 comments:

Salsero said...

Beautiful meditation on this tea ... both the photos and the prose.

Thanks!

Matt said...

Sal,

Thanks for your outpouring of kindness.

Peace

Tuo Cha Tea said...

This tea is 2007 Xi Zhi Hao Pu Zheng from Guang.

Anonymous said...

Lovely story of this tea...the photos leave me with such a feeling of peace!

Matt said...

Thomas,

One believes that this is not the 2007 Xi Zhi Hao Pu Zheng from Guang. It doesn't seem to match the description on your blog and besides we decided that mystery sample # 1 was this tea. One searched your puerh posts but couldn't find the tea that matched this sample. Perhaps this tea might just remain a mystery.

Lainie Petersen,

Thanks for your kind words.

Peace

Anonymous said...

Was doing some late reading and wandered the archives here...

This is the 2005 XZH Youle, judging description, especially of the boa around neck part.

--shah8

Matt said...

Shah8,

It's been too long since one tried this tea.

Looking back at the tasting notes, even the descriptions of taste could very well match Youle leaves but one has never tried the 2005 XZH for comparison.

Thanks for your thoughts and have fun browsing.

Peace