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