I got this as part of their December 2023 Premium Tea Box. It was the first raw pu-erh I'd ever tasted, and I fell immediately in love. I've since tried a few others, but this remains by far my favorite so far.
Notes of cedar, grass and mildly floral. It may take several infusions before the flavor really starts to develop, and around 8 or 9 i
...Read MoreRead more about I got this as part of their Decembernfusions in (at 20s each infusion, 50mg water to 3g leaves - I don't step up the infusion time until around the tenth or later). Around then, some solid umami develops, along with that delightful back-of-the-mouth sweetness. This is one of the two main teas I go to when I need a reliably enjoyable tea experience (as opposed to trying out new teas), along with my favorite oolong.
Be sure the water is as hot as you can get it. I immediately pour the boiling water into a (quality) thermos to keep it at that temperature, and make very sure to thoroughly preheat all of the implements beforehand, so they don't draw heat out of the water during infusion. Don't use a gaiwan that loses heat quickly, or that sits on a base that draws out the heat (some "easy automatic" gaiwan sets have this issue). Also, avoid brewing entirely from stray leaves, about half of the leaves should still be stuck together as they were in the cake. I've found that if I have a lackluster time with this tea, it's been due to one of those two issues, heat or "not caked". Read LessRead less about I got this as part of their December