This tea is a blend of Three types of Menghai, and one of Lincang and is also referred to as Peacock Tribute. Of course with the name American Hao is is one of the Puerh Shop Custom pressed cakes, and this being 901 is the first in the run of 2009.
I fear I am loosing my ability to describe smells, as while this is completely different than the other 2009 puerhs I have had I want to describe it in a similar way, a sweet aroma, this time more of a melon like cantaloupe, with Tobacco and banana's. In terms of aging potential this is the closest to my understanding of what I've heard leads to the possibility of it aging well. It is distinctly bitter, in a hops kind of way (think IPA), but it is rather soothing, with a lingering finish that lasts and changes bit by bit.
The second infusion is rather surprising in how it smells somewhat similar to cigarette smoke, but not as harsh. I very much feel that the people I talk about tea with the most, when paying attention can get a really good idea of my tastes, especially after swapping a few samples. The person who sent me this told me that he thought this would be my favorite, and its looking like he may be right, this coats the mouth very well, and has a lingering finish which is quite nice.
This tea progresses nicely, but I would not increase the steep time drastically, as it has quite a bit of staying power, in the sense that the leaves don't give up everything they have that quickly.
2 comments:
Weird, I drank this tea yesterday, too. Brewed it in a big (400ml?) yixing pot. I liked it better brewed in a smaller vessel. In larger volume, it tastes almost like cooked tomatoes mixed with straw. Maybe from too much oxidation in the leaf? Maybe blame the lincang? Maybe I'm not used to brewing in large pots? :)
We seem to be in tune somewhat, no less than five minutes ago was sorting out my tea shelf, I unwrapped my 901 American Hao and took a good sniff. I think I'll be taking it 'for a spin' tomorrow.
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