We had snow this weekend in Belgium so I really wanted a warming tea. Yee on Tea sent me several samples a while ago and one of those samples is the 2007 Aged Aroma Puerh tea. I had this one before and it was such a warming and interesting tea.
2007 Aged Aroma Puerh
When I first saw the name, I was sceptical because ‘aroma’ doesn’t sound good and creates the impression of artificial flavours being added. Luckily, this is not the case and it proved to be a very interesting tea.
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It is produced by Forever Tea Company and is remarkable in its composition. It’s a puerh blend consisting of 1/4 sheng puerh and 3/4 ripe puerh. Before drinking this tea, I had never drunk tea with this kind of composition. I know that this tea is from 2007 and that’s about it. I don’t know if this refers to the pressing of the cake or to the harvest of the leaves.
Tea Tasting
- Water 99°C
- 5g for a 100ml Factory 2 Zini pot
The leaves are fairly small and the compression is what you can expect from a shou puerh. The colour is a uniform dark brown. The aroma has warming notes of spices to it and I’m also getting some cardboard notes (possibly due to the paper bag the sample came in). I’m also picking up a very faint hint of citrus.
Infusion 1 (20 sec): the colour is very light; it almost looks like hong cha. I guess the leaves need more time to unfurl. Even though it looks subtle, flavours are already coming through. I’m getting subtle hints of spices and damp earth. The damp earth appears at the start of the aftertaste and slowly dies out.
Infusion 2 (25 sec): it looks more intense and the liquor looks so thick. More notes of damp earth are coming through. This is a really warming infusion. Every time I take a sip and swallow, there is a brief moment when I experience an intense sweetness. It’s not candy, but the earthiness has a mouth-watering sweetness to it.
Infusion 3 (30 sec): this one has the right colour for a nice shou puerh so I guess the leaves have fully opened now. Flavours are more prominent and I feel the tea is starting to show its potential. I’m getting damp earth with a deep undertone of spices. I’m also still getting some of the sweetness I got before when swallowing. This is a really good infusion.
Infusion 4 (35 sec): the liquor flows well and it immediately coats my mouth. The earthiness is really warming and is everywhere all at once. Such a pleasant sensation.
Infusion 5 (45 sec): I feel the earthiness has shifted more towards the front and it’s more at the surface now. Once the earthiness passes, there is a brief moment I’m getting some camphor. Definitely an interesting infusion.
Infusion 6 (60 sec): just like in the previous infusion, the earthiness is more at the surface and there is also a touch of camphor noticeable. In general, this is a mellow and pleasant infusion.
Infusion 7 (long): I couldn’t get enough of this tea so I did some additional infusions. The leaves are still going strong and the colour is still really dark. It’s shifting towards a full-on camphor brew. So good!
Infusion 8 (long): more of the same and it was still delicious! I just want to keep on brewing this tea…
Conclusion
The first half of the session was more about sensations and the feeling I got when tasting this 2007 Aged Aroma Puerh. The flavours were not that intense and it was all about the body sensation. The liquor had a thick and oily texture and a really pleasant mouthfeel.
The second half of the session was more about flavours and was even better than the first half. I got notes of damp earth with a sweet touch to it. These flavours were at the surface and there were also notes of camphor peeking through.
I really like this tea and how the leaves changed throughout the session. Definitely a tea I recommend and you can buy it over here if you’re interested.
