Country of Origin: China
Leaf Appearance: small, dark
Ingredients: puerh tea
Steep time: 30 seconds
Water Temperature: 200 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain gaiwan
Liquor: deep orangish gold
In case you couldn’t tell by the amount of puerh reviews that I’m doing, my obsession with this category of tea is steadily growing. I was really excited to try this offering from +Tribute Tea Company because Yiwu was heavily discussed in a book I reviewed last week, Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic. I was also jazzed to get to try some slightly older stuff than my usual. The leaves were fairly dark in color and brewed up a gorgeous orangish gold. The taste was mellow and sweet yet pungent at the same time. I was surprised to find that there was no bitterness at all. I had heard that Yiwu puerh is generally sweeter than other areas but this one almost bordered on fruity. The finish had a cooling menthol-like affect that I found very refreshing. It’s hard to explain but this one of only a few teas that I truly felt physically affected by. Sometimes I feel as though the English language is too limited to explain such things. Simply put, this is a damned good puerh and a relatively well priced one at that. I highly recommend it!
2004 Yiwu Mountain Raw Puerh sample provided by Tribute Tea Company.