This tea is made by a small artisan producer on the border of Yunnan and Vietnam, so while classed as Vietnamese, you can expect quality similar to a Chinese pu-erh. This is a cooked (shu) pu-erh that has then been stored since 1999. It is also a 2010 Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Award winner. Basically the point I'm getting at is that this is an extremely exciting tea.

Canton Tea Co. recommends brewing this gong fu style. Even though I have a cooked pu yixing, I use my porcelain gaiwan because that yixing has been so neglected, I forgot I even owned it. I've been on such a sheng kick lately. For shame. I put about 6 grams of leaf in the 100 mL gaiwan. I rinse it with 200 degree water twice before my first 20-second infusion.

The red-brown liquor smells strongly of dirt and fish. The taste is surprisingly light with little fish and a more tamed dirt flavour than I expected. It has a light, fruity astringency but is smooth and lacks bitterness. It has a mild overall character and is a light cup, yet it is distinctly a cooked pu-erh.

The 25-second second infusion is fishier than the first. It is dry and somewhat though not overly, tangy and acidic. The liquor has become a rich amber, and the scent has evolved to become quite woody.

The 35-second third steep has a beautiful chocolate-coloured liquor. It is woody and dry. While it's smooth, it dries my throat.

Steep 4 is 45 seconds, 5-60seconds, 6-75seconds, and 7-90 seconds. This tea has a flavour that's somewhat hard to describe, and it's certainly one of the more unique pu-erhs that's crossed my lips. I'm not sure if I'd buy it for myself, but this falls firmly into the "worth trying" category.

— To purchase Canton Tea Co. 1999 Vietnamese Cooked Loose Puerh, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular tea, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.

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