Vin-Satori has some great teas (as you should know by now if you have been reading the blog) and I drank another one of their teas. I got a couple of samples with a recent order and one of those samples is the 2011 LTC Yong De Da Ye. This is also the tea I posted about in my Instagram stories and asked what kind of tea it was. Not a lot of people guessed it was shou puerh…
2011 LTC Yong De Da Ye
The 2011 LTC Yong De Da Ye is a shou puerh that was originally pressed into tuo cha. I don’t have one myself because I got this tea as a sample. It comes from Yongde County in Lincang and was produced by Lan Ting Chun, who is an important figure in puerh production. I really liked the 2007 Lan Ting Chun Yo Ji Cha so I hope this one is nice as well.
The interesting thing about this tea is that it almost looks like aged sheng puerh, which is also what several of my Instagram followers thought. I would say the fermentation process looks very different from most modern-day shou puerh. This is due to the fermentation method and knowledge of the producer.
Tea Tasting
- 5.2g for a 100ml Factory 2 zini teapot
- 99°C water
The leaves are a mix of many different things. I see tightly-compressed chunks, big leaves and also several massive stems. The colour is a darker kind of brown so it looks a bit like autumn already. The aroma is like taking an autumn walk through the forest. Once the leaves get wet, some berries are popping up.
Infusion 1 (20 sec): the colour is a kind of copper so it isn’t too dark yet. As I expected, it’s rather subtle because it takes a while for the leaves to fully open to release their flavours. It has subtle notes of autumn throughout the infusion and I’m also getting a touch of berries on the tip of my tongue. This is a really good first infusion.
Infusion 2 (25 sec): I can still see the bottom of my cup so the liquor isn’t really getting darker. The flavours are mellow and the liquor flows well. The texture is quite thick and immediately coats my whole mouth and throat in particular. I feel the berries have a certain sweetness to them in this one. They continue long into the aftertaste.
Infusion 3 (30 sec): the colour is a bit darker. For me, this is how good shou puerh should taste. It reminds me of other really nice shou puerh teas I drank some time ago. When I close my eyes, it’s as if I’m walking through a dense forest in late autumn. There are leaves everywhere but you feel the forest has strong energy. Throughout the infusion, I’m also getting sweet berries.
Infusion 4 (40 sec): it feels a bit lighter. The berries are still there and are still as sweet. I’m getting less of the autumn notes. However, it still feels really thick and even a bit creamy. Most of the aftertaste is focused on my throat.
Infusion 5 (50 sec): I boiled some fresh water for this infusion because I felt the temperature had dropped a bit too much. This resulted in more intense flavours. Nice and sweet berries flow through this infusion. So delicious!
Infusion 6 (60 sec): the colour isn’t changing that much, but the liquor is losing a bit of its texture; it isn’t as thick anymore. The flavours are fairly intense but they have changed a bit. No more autumn notes and berries are the main thing I’m getting during the infusion, but also in the aftertaste.
Infusion 7 (long): for a 7th infusion of shou puerh, this is extraordinary! Still rich in flavours and enjoyable. It has changed again and the autumn notes are back and dominate this infusion.
Infusion 8 (long): more of the same. The undertone is deep and earthy and I’m also getting sweet notes of a forest in late autumn.
Infusion 9 (long): the colour is still relatively dark and the flavours did not change that much. This is really impressive for a 9th infusion. I’m getting berries and notes of a wet forest. The aftertaste is fading now…
Conclusion
I’m really impressed by the 2011 LTC Yong De Da Ye. Before this session, I had never done 9 infusions with a shou puerh before. This one just kept on going and definitely went the distance. It had enjoyable flavours right until the end. Impressive!
Flavours in this session mostly consisted of (sweet) berries and notes of a wet forest in late autumn. The description on their website fits this tea perfectly. This one has earned a spot in my top-3 favourite shou puerh teas.
If you are interested in trying the 2011 LTC Yong De Da Ye, you can buy it over here.
