Pu-erh.sk 2013 Bada

This sample courtesy of Peter at Pu-erh.sk is from the Bada region.

Dry leaves smell of deep foresty-pungent notes and slight hay-grass smells. There is also an light undercurrent of light-sweet-creamy-indistinct fruit sweet notes.

The first infusion has a watery initial taste which swells into a creamy-sweet taste with a clear very mild slight wood base to support the higher notes. This first infusion is very clear with two distinct polarities emerging on the pallet. The mouthfeel is thin and slightly sticky. It manages to reach the mid throat and stick to the tongue. The taste profile stretches into a gummy/woody barely sweet flat floral aftertaste.

The second starts with a woody taste mixed with a slight flat sweet taste. The mouthfeel is full here and opens the throat nicely. There is a dry feeling which is left behind. Flavors of cherry fruit with a thin slightly bitter wood underpin the taste lingering on the breath. It ends in a chalky-dry mouthfeel.

The third infusion starts with a bland dry wood taste. This taste dominates the profile of this tea with very little action under this dominant base taste. There are some slight creamy and barely sweet cherry fruit tastes that swell up quickly then disappear- barely able to penetrate the woody base. The feeling in the mouth is slightly drying in the mouth and mid throat. The qi of this tea rises to the face flushing it slightly. Thanks to the deeper throat feel, minutes later a taste of slight tropical fruits feels stuck in the tongue.

The fourth and fifth infusions start with a bitter/bland wood taste. The strength of the initial wood taste seems to get stronger as the infusions progress. Now it carries a stronger bitter edge. A whiff of sweet cherry tastes barely brake through. The aftertaste is a dry wood slight metallic taste with some barely sweet edges. The mouthfeel becomes more drying as well. A rubbery taste is left in the mouth minutes later. The qi has a soft but uplifting quality to it. It is not so hard on the stomach despite its dry/ bitter edge.

The sixth infusion delivers a watery-woody initial taste that is showing signs of winding down. With less overwhelming woody-bitter tastes much more of the profile is of very soft-faint, barely sweet, plain florals.

The seventh is pushed a bit harder and reveals more dry wood tones but much the same as the sixth. The lighter tastes are pushed away and more woody notes are pushed out. The slight floral-cherry taste skirts under woody notes mainly at the end of the profile. The mouth- and throatfeel have diminished as well. There is not that much left in the throat anymore. A muted floral taste is left in the throat even ten minutes later.

The eight is much the same, it is more bitter, with longer steeping time but also noticeably more floral in its taste. There is a soapy edge to this taste. It is somewhat enjoyable so these leaves are steeped once more. This ninth infusion is more fruity but very light. This tea develops a very slow but evolving profile and the late infusions still have something to be enjoyed.

Hobbes' (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Jakub's (T) Tasting Notes

Peace

Pu-erh.sk 2013 Manzhuan

This 2013 Manzhuan is the fourth kindly gifted sample from Peter...

Dry leaves smell of slight pungent notes with slight raspberry fruit and hay nuances. There is a undercurrent of slightly sweet, softly creamy berries.

The first infusion starts with a slightly sweet and creamy initial taste. There are soft suggestions of hay underneath. The sweet creamy taste is soft and stays throughout the whole profile of this tea. The mouthfeel is soft, fluffy, almost chalky in the mouth. The profile develops a very slight lime edge before disappearing back to soft sweet-creamy tastes. There is a mild coolness in the throat.

The second infusion presents with the initial taste of slightly bland, dry wood tastes. The once creamy-sweet nuances have been pushed to the end of the taste profile where they now contain obvious suggestions of strawberries. The mouthfeel is drying now and coats the whole mouth with a very subtle cool opening sensation in the mid throat.

The third infusion starts with a slight sour/bland taste. At the end of the profile a creamy barely sweet berry taste floats on top of the woody sour/blands. The mouthfeel is slightly dry and coarse. Only a slight coolness penetrates the throat at the end of the profile. There is a lime nuance that appears occasionally as well.

The fourth is a muted-creamy tasting initial presentation with bland woody tastes underneath. There is a lingering taste of bitter berries and sour lime in there as well. A slight creamy-sweetness paired with a muted dry wood lingers on the breath. The mouthfeel seems dry but stickier in the mouth. The slight cool throatfeel remains unchanged.

The fifth start with bland, slightly bitter, dry wood tastes. A woody lime starts to dominate then leaves a slight creamy-sweetness in the breath. Things are much the same here. Minutes later the creamy-sweet-berry taste is what is left on the breath.

The sixth is much the same but more bitter now. The tastes all kind of meld together when flanked by more bitter tastes.

Jakub's (T) Tasting Notes

Hobbes' (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Gero's (no objectiviTEA) Tasting Notes

Sebastian's (Vacuithe) Tasting Notes

Peace

Pu-erh.sk 2013 Hekai

This 2013 Hekai sample was the third enjoyed from Peter's generous package..

Dry fatish leaves smell of subtle juicy notes mixed with soft faint creamy sweet hay odors.

The first infusion starts with a light-watery initial taste there are faint notes of spice and hay. The taste then ends in a clear dry wood-coco taste. All these tastes are very watered down, very muted in this first infusion. The mouthfeel is slightly sticky, drying, and rubbery in the mouth. I is most noticeable in the back of the mouth. There is a very faint wood-melon aftertaste. There is a barely sweet woody-coco taste throughout.

The second infusion has an initial taste of slight creamy-floral sweetness which vanishes fast to hay-dry woody tastes. The wood taste disappears quickly too leaving a modest creamy floral swell of taste in the mouth, subtle cherry. The wood tastes ebb and flow in and out. There is lots of push and pull between these taste polarities. A slightly tart cherry, a choke cherry, taste is left in the mouth minutes later. The mouthfeel is dry and is mainly experienced in the back mouth and even upper throat. There is a slight coolness there.

The third infusion has a slight sour/bitter initial taste followed by some slightly sweet cherry tastes. There is a faint wood profile under it all. The two tastes meld together and form one taste. The bitter/sour taste leads. There are slight wood-cherry fruit tastes in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel feels more chalky and slippery now and seems to stick to the mouth.

The fourth presents with juicy cherry notes and soft dry wood undertones with the bitter notes lingering more beneath this profile. It develops a chalky sweetness on the tongue. The initial taste becomes relatively more creamy and barely sweet throughout the profile. The qi of this tea is very focusing and clear and makes the mind crisp, limbs light, and body fluid.

The fifth has a watery-sweet bitter coco initial taste which turns into dry-wood and imparts a dry monthfeel and throatfeel. Minutes later some creamy-sweet cherry fruit taste tryst to break through but instead just lingers faintly in the breath.

The sixth infusion gives a watery, juicy, subtle creamy-cherry-fruit taste. The mouthfeel is noticeably drier now. The dry feel gives way to tart choke cherry tastes.

Returning to the pot hours later, the seventh infusion offers a watery barely sweet woody initial taste that is flaked by a wave of sweeter-bitter tastes. There is a woody, fruity, bitter finish.

The eighth is more bitter but much the same.

Jakub's (T) Tasting Notes

Cajovy Kamen's Tasting Notes

Hobbes' (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Peace

Pu-erh.sk 2013 Mansa

This is the second kindly gifted sample from Pu-erh.sk's 2013 production is from Mansa...

Dry leaves smell of mainly high noted sweet cherry and subtle woody-bark and hay odors.

The first infusion brings forth very pure sweet, cherry tastes with hints of spice and persimmon-apple. The tastes are very clear and crisp. They have a noticeable cool energy and offer a thin coating to the mouth and mainly noticed in the mid throat. There is a cool peppermint taste left in the throat.

The second infusion is a smooth creamy clean blend of fruity tastes such as banana and pineapples and has an interesting subtle spiciness underneath. The tastes are very clean. The mouthfeel is thin and mainly noticeable in the throat where a cool, tropical-fruity-menthol lingers.

The third infusion has a creamier edge now with a slight touch of caramel tones initially. Soft bananas and creamy tropical tastes emerge later. The taste remains light and cheerful.

The fourth is more watery with some empty space left between the light fruity tastes. The lack of any deeper base tastes to support the pure high fruity tastes becomes more obvious now. There is still a nice cool-fruity finish in the mouth. The banana taste stays minutes later.

The fifth carries a more simple slightly malty-caramel-tropical fruit taste. The mouthfeel remains thin but now slightly sandy on the tongue. The aftertaste is less cooling now. Still fruity aftertastes remain.

The sixth is much the same- even fainter spirit in this tea now.

Jakub's (T) Tasting Notes

Cajovy Kamen's Tasting Notes

Hobbes' (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Peace

Pu-erh.sk 2013 Youle

Petr from Pu-erh.sk sent some samples of his 2013 cakes in late Summer.  Was waiting for some space in life where these samples could get some nice attention and a time when one's body was craving the edgey energy of raw puerh.  In the extraordinary cold that is the Canadian prairies these cravings are few and far between.  That time was this week.. so without further pause here is the first sample, a piece off his 2013 Youle cake:

Dry leaves smell of soft distant deep pungent forest odors with almost unrecognizable sweet undertones.

The first infusion offers a muddled taste of blandish/bitter. These tastes are dirty and slightly gritty with a grapefruit like taste barely noticed under it all. The mouthfeel has a slight chalky taste mainly on the tongue. The aftertaste continues these dirty/ bland tastes.

The second infusion gives off a sour lime citrus taste initially before waves of bitter and dirtier edges take over. There is a slight flash of coca bean in the overwhelmingly bland and bitter notes. The citrus grapefruit/ lime aftertaste is subtle over the more obvious. The mouthfeel now coats the tongue. Dirtier coco, almost creamy-dirty tastes, arrive minutes later.

The third infusion is a dirty and barely creamy initial taste which gets overwhelmed with a grapefruit-sour taste. As the brackish tastes build in the mouth they peek leaving behind a dirty coco taste in the mouth. The mouthfeel now involves the upper throat as well. There are sour tastes lingering throughout and even floral tastes break through. The qi of this tea is subtle, it stuffs the head a touch, and lightens the limbs as well.

The fourth infusion still presents with lots of sour citrus notes but the coco, even slightly creamy tastes are more obvious.

The fifth presents with even creamier notes the brackish base is now less dominant. This results in an creamier but still muddled. The sixth is much the same. There is still a lingering sour grapefruit undertone. A slight creamy swell develops on the breath with grapefruit.

Seventh is mainly just bitter and sour. With grapefruit notes coming out in the aftertaste. A subtle creamy floral taste still manages to linger on the breath.

Jakub's (T) Tasting Notes

Cajovy Kamen Tasting Notes

Hobbes' (The Half-Dipper) Tasting Notes

Peace