Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: varied greens and browns, compressed
Ingredients: puerh
Steep time: 30 seconds
Water Temperature: 212 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: gold
There is something about shipments from Jalam Teas that brings out the photographer in me. I’ve had some major catching up to do so this was actually sent in February 2014. Good thing puerh gets better with age (most of the time)! The leaves of this one were quite beautiful after a few steepings. I love finding whole bud sets in my puerh. I’ve never had a tea from this region but the informative postcard that accompanied it explained that it is close to the border of Laos. While it had a strong character, I was surprised by its mellowness. The taste was vegetal with a crisp and clean finish. The aroma of the leaves was quite nice as well. Towards the end of my session I even picked up a bit of fruitiness. This is the kind of puerh that I put in my travel mug to brew over and over again throughout the day. It’s strong enough to wake me up but not so strong that it punches me in the face. I used about 6 grams since that’s my comfort zone but the brewing directions advised using 8 grams. It also said that the locals will use as much as 12 grams. Somehow I feel like this tea wouldn’t have been nearly as mellow if I had done that.
You can find out more about Jalam Teas here.
