This thing is hard to break! That was my first impression of this sample.
Right from the beginning I noticed how hard it will be to break it apart. Basically I got a sample
which is one big compressed piece. A little tearing here and there and some stitching with my puerh knife eventually loosened up the sample.
First challenge done! Now lets look into if it was worth all the trouble.
This sample was purchased from YunnanSourcing and its full name is “2004 Dehong Ye Sheng Zhuan”. As the name already suggests it’s from a region called Dehong. While Dehong is closer to Lincang than to Xishuangbanna tea area it is still a unique tea area standing for itself. For more background on what puerh regions are out there in Yunnan check James awesome article on teadb.
The first steeping has quite a mellow note to it. But you can already notice that it is just waking up - from its long sleep (2004).
I already sense some grassy aroma which intensifies within the next steeping.
There is some mineral aroma mixing in which I love! It somehow grounds the now stronger becoming grassy notes.
The sweetness is balanced and makes this tea really rounded.
Let’s wrap up. While taking apart this tea was sort of an adventure the tasting isn’t. But I don’t mean this in a bad way. I would
recommend this tea for a quite and calm afternoon. Maybe for doing some paperwork or your weekly review as I am doing now.