Lately I feel the
haters eatin away at my confidence
They scream out my
failures and whisper my accomplishments
I think there is basically four reasons why this cake was
given the name and style of hip hop artist, Drake’s February 2015’s commercial
mix tape. Firstly, is that Paul of white2tea is a fan
and often names his blends after hip hop songs.
He is quick to act and often uses very recent drops. Secondly, is the obvious play on words
between “Too” and “2” which can be seen throughout the white2tea branding, wrapper
design and name. Thirdly, this blend has
a tone and feel of the mix tape, I believe.
This one is something not too standoffish or flashy, more of an unpretentious,
under-the-covers, mature offering of deeper timbre. Fourtly, the title implies a fear of missing out marketing angle that white2tea often uses to market its limited runs.
I think it’s also interesting that Paul pressed this one
because the only other version, a 2015 white2tea If You Are Reading This, didn’t
sell out quickly like most of the other cheaper cakes and more expensive cakes
that may have been more popular in his 2015 line up. However, the 2015 seemed reasonably popular or
maybe it is just the casualty of occupying a certain price bracket between
budget and premium and being more of a low-key puerh. Maybe its because it was really undrinkable
when freshly pressed… I really have no idea because I have never tried the 2015
version… but here we have a free coin (many thanks) that came with some 2019 white2tea Snoozefest cakes (the full cake goes for $55.00 for 200g cake or $0.28/g)…
The dry leaves smell of a sweet vegitalness with an
underlying pungent floral quality.
The first infusion starts with a watery vegetal presentation
with a touch of spice there is some floral lingering underneath barely under
there. There is a slight sandy flat
mouthfeel that builds then there is a faint lingering grape note on the breath.
The second infusion starts watery vegetal with a touch of
spice again. There is almost a floral
sweetness that tries to push through but languishes under a flat vegetal
note. The mouthfeel is the throat opens
fairly nicely to a mid level with some saliva lingering in the upper
throat. The teeth feel squeaky and there
is a rubbery base taste. The aftertaste
is of faint florals faint sweetness.
The third infusion has a rubbery vegetal presentation with a
deep astringency that I can feel it beating on my digestive system. Ouch! There is some grass tastes, some
echoing florals and some sweet melon which all seem to be separate parts of the
profile as opposed to a cohesive whole.
The mouthfeel is a squeaky astringency and the throat opens nicely to a
mid- level. This puerh tastes very green
and fresh. It is rather rough on the
digestive system- quite raw really- this is standard young puerh stuff but this
one is a bit rougher than most- not a drink now puerh at all. The Qi is mild a bit on the face. My early morning stupor has not been lifted
yet from this tea…
The fourth has a vegetal front with a floral underside then
kind of becomes vacuous there some spice in there. There is a pond bitter green tea like quality
to this puerh throughout. It almost
tastes like a Sencha with the strong vegetal with floral and bitter
astringency. There is also something in
her that reminds me of a bit of Mengsong material blended in. The mouthfeel is a squeaky astringency and
the throat opens mildly. This one is
hard on the guts and I have to find some toast to remedy the gut wrenching. The qi is mild building in the head a bit
like a pressure there.
The fifth infusion starts with a mild bitter astringent
watery green tea like floral. The taste
is almost a touch salty here there is a tiny flash of spice too. The taste is really simple and the feeling is
like this was just pressed days ago. The
mouthfeeling is squeaky astringency.
The sixth has pretty much the taste presentation- there is a
bit more savory almost mineral notes coming out faintly over the bitter
astringent vegetal floral. The taste
holds pretty still here. The Qi has a
mild pressure in the head.
The seventh is the same watery vegetal green tea like
profile. There is a touch of dirt/dry
wood bark taste that presents throughout.
The astringent pucker is present on the lips, teeth, toungue, sides of
the mouth, upper-mid troat, stomach, guts…. The floral aftertaste is quite long
in this infusion. This puerh reminds me
of a Mengsong and Jinggu. Although it
seems pretty straightforward the astringency and throat opening will help its
age with still something to enjoy.
The eighth infusion is plain vegetal, watery, slight bitter
astringent, slight floral finish, very Sencha.
Mild squeaky mouthfeeling, slight top throat opening, mild head pressure
Qi, very mild and not cohesive presentation of tastes yet.
The ninth infusion is woodier now with a bitter green tea
like taste. Simple spent green tea like
suggestions. The tenth is pretty much
the same. The taste is really watery and
mild overall. A bit of astringency.
The 10th is really watery and insipid with just
edges of vegetal and floral. The 11th
seems like this puerh is already finished.
I try to will myself to put this into a few minute long steeps, ignoring
the groins coming from my stomach.. but I’m getting some pretty extreme rawness
from this puerh. I know this is normal
young puerh stuff, that’s all, but this gut rot is exceptionally disruptive.
I keep the dry leaves in the pot for a few days before I get
my will up and my stomach rehabbed. I do a minutes long infusion… the leaves
have mellowed out a bit from being left in the pot… the result is a mellow
watery, vegetable tasting thing, with not really any sweetness and still a
squeaky mouthfeeling.
I put it into a longer steeping… some mineral, some wood,
barely spice, metallic tastes…
This puerh is not made for drinking anytime soon- it’s one
for ageing. Overall, it’s not overly
complex and doesn't have great stamina. On the other hand, I still think it will turn out very
drinkable in maybe 5-6 years because it has enough astringency to give what is
there for depth something to cling to…
Peace
No comments:
Post a Comment