Dec 02
Lynn’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "The flavor was amazingly complex: at first bitter, but with a surprisingly sweet finish which once again reminded me of honey and musk. The sweet, thick fragrance rose from my throat into my nostrils and lingered there, like an oolong."
|
9.5/10
From the Norbu website: “Yi Wu mountain is located in Mengla County, Xishuangbana Prefecture in the far south of Yunnan Province. It is a well known growing area for excellent quality, mild flavored Pu-Erh. In early Spring 2008, Yi Wu Mountain tea was picked and processed, then lightly compressed into lengths of an aromatic subspecies of bamboo native to Southern Yunnan. Traditionally, the bamboo tubes were then roasted over a wood fire dry out the tea and the bamboo for storage. In this case, the tea-filled bamboo sections were then baked in a low temperature oven room to dry them out and to prevent mold from forming. These oven rooms are sometimes used in the manufacture of the more commercial forms of Pu-Erh tea also to prevent mold formation from the moisture that has to be added during the compression process. During this low temperature bake-drying process, the aromatic compounds in the bamboo permeate the tea leaves and infuse them with a beautifully vivid & unique sweetness. The steeped liquor is a lovely deep amber-gold, and it is good for several infusions when steeped Gong Fu style. Highly recommended for people new to Pu-Erh tea.”Fascinated by the process, I had to try this unusual pu-erh. As you might expect from the description, this tea comes in a small log-shaped roll made up of leaves ranging from dark greenish brown to golden yellow. Thanks no doubt to the aromatic bamboo, it has a light, sweet, honey-like fragrance, rather than the usual earthy smell of a pu-erh.
Norbu leaves preparation very much to the discretion of the individual, so I steeped two teaspoonfuls of dry leaves crushed from the log in half a cup of just-off-the boil water for four minutes. The resulting liquor was a medium chestnut brown reminiscent of a black tea with a thick, honey-like aroma underlain with a bit of musk. The flavor was amazingly complex: at first bitter, but with a surprisingly sweet finish which once again reminded me of honey and musk. The sweet, thick fragrance rose from my throat into my nostrils and lingered there, like an oolong. The longer I waited between sips, the more the sweet flavor developed on my tongue.
Since the directions hadn’t been very specific, I decided to alter the next brew, using one cup of 208F water and letting it steep for three minutes. The leaves are fully unfurled now, large pieces, brown in color, interspersed with a few twigs. This cup had a more golden red hue and musk was overpowering the honey in the fragrance. The flavor was much improved, however; the bitterness was nearly gone, and the honey sweetness was firmly in charge. A hint of pu-erh earthiness was also creeping in. I drank this cup with an oatmeal raisin cookie and found it to be a pleasing combination.
I brewed the third infusion the same way as the second. It came out significantly lighter and the fragrance, though still musky sweet, struck me as less pleasant than before. Flavor-wise, however, it was still very nice, with a balance of sweet and re-emerged bitter, with just enough earth note to declare itself a pu-erh.
This is, in my experience at least, a very atypical pu-erh. While Norbu recommends it for beginners—and I agree to some extent in that it is mild and sweet and therefore little like many pu-erhs—I’m not sure this would prepare anyone for the deep earthiness of a more representative example. Taken on its own merits, however, it’s a fascinating tea drinking experience, and one well worth sharing. Highly recommended.
— To purchase Norbu Tea 2008 Yi Wu Mountain Bamboo Roasted Pu-Erh Tea, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.
 |
Lynn Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Lynn's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Lynn. |
December 23rd, 2009 at 3:37 am
I love pu erh tea. This is my favorite beverage to drink after a meal that’s rich in fat and grease. It does seem to do a great job in ‘melting’ the fat.