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2005 Li Ji Cooked Tuo Cha | ||
| Genre: Compressed Shu/Black/Cooked/Ripe | ||
| Factory: Li Ji Factory | ||
| Vendor: TeaSpring Special Order | ||
| Reviewed by Gerry Tiffany on 02/26/2006 | ||
| Background | This is a new production, 200g, so I flaked up about a third of the cake into pieces the size of quarters and left them on a plate covered with a paper towel for six days so they could breathe and loose some of the new factory flavor. This tea was purchased on the recommendation of a friend. | |
| Dry Leaf Appearence: | Medium compressed, mostly very dark brown with some red and grey peices. | |
| Water to Leaf Ratio: | 8.3 gr of Leaf in 200 ml of water | |
| Brewing Method: | Short rinse (15s) in very hot (not boling) water. Five minute rest. Yixing shu pot. Infusions in boiling water: 18s, 10s, 18s, 26s, 1m | |
| Wet Leaf Appearence: | Black, medium-sized leaves | |
| 1st Steep | Very nice and mild: This is the first infusion. No off-putting flavors. There is a good sweetness. Hints of vanilla and cocoa. Clean tasting. Some pleasant tartness on the sides of the tongue. A bit of lemon. The liquor's color is deep red, almost ochre. So far, so good. | |
| 2nd Steep | Much darker now. The center of the cup is black, but the edges are red. Nevertheless, there is excellent clarity. Despite the dark color, the lipuor is not opaque. The aroma in this infusion, of course, is stronger, with a little leather background. In the first hot sip, the previous flavors are still apparent, but strong, with an addition of malt. I am pleased. For an extremely young tea, this shu tuo cha has much going for it. It is *perhaps* not quite as thick and creamy as some cooked pu'ers, but the excellent balance makes up for that. The flavors remind me of root beer or, even better, old-fashioned cream soda. :-) As the cup cools, the seetness-citrus harmony plays really well. Interesting: This tea makes me salivate. | |
| 3rd Steep | The appearance of the liquor in this infusion is the same as in the last--black in the middle, red on the rims. The aroma is also identical. The tea has a definite warming quality, causing a wonderful heat in the chest. In the first hot sips, the lemon seems to have backed off a tiny bit. As the tea cools, I note the second infusion was stronger than this third infusion. | |
| 4th Steep | The liquor from this infusion is a little less black, a little more red. The aroma is still strong and good. The citrus has backed off more, and the sweetness is stronger. The soda pop nuances are still evident. I like this tea. It's fading a little in this infusion, but what remains is very clean, very balanced still. | |
| Subsequent Steeps | The fifth steep (at one full minute) is *much* lighter, but the aroma still remains. Incredibly, the tea feels creamier in the mouth. The flavors are much more subdued. Still, it has strength, but a changed strength. Just for grins, I ran a sixth infusion at three full minutes. The liquor has the color of amber ale and the flavor is very akin to young sheng/uncooked pu'er. | |
| Conclusion | Last night I tried a different purveyor's sample of something called 90s Yang Pin, a cooked pu'er. It tasted really icky--like essence of horse sweat. And gram-for-gram, the 90s Yang Pin cost about ten times as much as this 05 Li Ji 200g cooked tuo cha. When I bought this Li Ji, I made a good purchase. Perhaps it is not heavily cooked or fermented, and the balance I'm tasting is the greener aspect of the pu'er. I have a couple more tuo chas of this pu'er, and I look forward to tasting this tea from time to time as it mellows. I will also instigate some research into the Li Ji production facility and see if it makes other pu'er available. The next time I brew this tea, I shall try a series of very short (3-second) infusions and see what develops. | |
| Sorry, no Photos | ||