Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: varied greens and browns
Ingredients: puerh tea
Steep time: 10 seconds
Water Temperature: 185 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: deep gold
I first discovered Denong Tea at their World Tea Expo booth earlier this year. It had been quite a stressful day with surprisingly little tea consumed. I was instantly revived as soon as I took a sip of their Enchanting Beauty. It was love at first taste. I loved it so much that I told everyone all about it…and they wound up selling out before I could grab a cake for myself. Thankfully they contacted me soon afterward about sending samples for review, including this gem.
When it comes to reviews I always try to use the vendor’s recommendations before playing around with my own preferred methods. I was glad I did that with this tea because although Denong’s brewing directions take a lighter approach, I actually enjoyed the tea more that way. The taste was sweet and smooth with a wonderfully soft floral quality. Fruity notes of apricot danced around crisp baby spinach.
People often talk about the way that puerh effects us physically. I rarely experience that but this tea produced a very noticeable warming sensation at the center of my chest. Later brews grew progressively more intense. While there was some astringency it never bordered on unpleasant. Enchanting Beauty really did live up to her name. This is a tea I’ll be remembering for some time to come.
I do wish there was a bit more information about where the tea was sourced from but that isn’t a deal breaker. At $30 for a 100g cake, this tea runs along the same price range as my usual sheng fare. I would definitely say that it is worth it given the quality, especially since you don’t have to commit to a large and expensive cake. There are several other teas from this company waiting in my to-do pile and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you all.
2015 Early Spring Harvest Enchanting Beauty Raw Pu-erh sample provided for review by Denong Tea.