1990s Puerh Tea Brick, Menghai Tea Factory (Green/Sheng)

Recommend to others: I found this tea to have good flavor, with excellent hui gan and qi.  I particularly enjoy the return of sweetness on the tongue, long after the sip.

Please describe how you are preparing the tea (brew times, water temperature, type of teapot, etc): I prepared this tea using a porcelain gaiwan, with fresh boiled water, pouring several infusions starting with 7-second steeping and building eventually to 90-second steeping by the 8th infusion.

What did you taste on the First Brew?: Initial fragrance of leaves shows good camphor. Taste was clean wood with camphor on the breath, surrounded by a distinct sweetness.

What did you taste on the Second Brew?: Fragrance strengthens with plummy fruit while camphor recedes. Taste of clean woods deepens, with hui gan developing plum fruit layers.

What did you taste on the Third Brew?: Taste-wise, this tea is strong good clean woodiness. There is a wonderful returning sweetness that rises long after the sip.

Additional Comments: While I found this tea to have good flavor I was particularly impressed by the development and nuances of the hui gan, which starts out initially with camphor notes but soon develops plummy and floral layers on the returning breath. Very nice. Also, this tea possesses an interesting and very active qi which grows with each successive infusion, moving throughout the body before eventually settling in the core. When I drink this tea I inevitably take my time with it, in part to allow for the return of that wonderful sweetness between sips, to take in the nuances of the hui gan, and also to observe the movement of qi. A very enjoyable tea.

Reviewed by: bevbyrnes
Date: Feb. 23, 2011>
Location: Seattle, WA