Year of the Tiger Shou (Ripe) Puerh, 2010
The 2010 Shou Puerh is sweet, smooth, earthy, and has a soothing "Cha Qi". The tea soup is nice and thick. The original leaf quality is great and this tea will continue to age very well. As of 2019, the teacakes are developing "golden flower", a very beneficial kind of fungal growth that indicates great processing, storage, and aging. The taste is more sugary than woody now; as time goes on it will likely develop a clean camphor taste. Like all of our Shou Puerh, this is a great tea to warm us up when it is cold, and to aid our stomach and entire digestive system.
This tea is also nice to boil. We typically mix 2 or more types of Shou Puerh to give the tea great complexity and depth.
This was a very pleasant tea, although it was quite expensive for my budget. I have been drinking pu-ehr on a daily basis for about 14 years now. I've noticed it can take me awhile to get to know a tea. I only purchased a small 1-oz portion of this tea, due to its steep cost, and I feel I would need to purchase a larger portion before I really understand this one.
United StatesI love sipping this tea and enjoying the deep flavor and clean taste.