I feel like I’ve been French-kissing a mule with an old
leather bit in his mouth. And yes, I like it, of course I do. I like it because
it is not floral and light or fruity and delicate or rocky and
minerally. It’s spit and leather, it's old barn, and molding hay, it’s a brick
of earth that’s been peed upon then wiped clean with the wet tears of nature's
rain. It's Shou pu!
Not the best, and certainly not the worst I’ve ever had, I
am stopping mid- steeping session as eight is enough to have my head pounding, and
the windchimes aren’t the only bells I am hearing right now. This tea is a
doozy. Produced in 1997 by manufacturer CNNP, this is a ripe, fermented brick
of tea in which I had a ten gram rock-hard nugget of. It's very smooth in that
specific way an old shou can be if it hasn’t gone fishy on you, and the liquor
is a gorgeous and rich sable turning to chestnut series of hues. Typical, I am
told for a lightly-wet Hong Kong storage. Get your penny ten gram sample, plus
shipping here.
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| I made such a mess of it trying to pry the nugget apart. |