What seems like an age ago and was only a year or so I received a shipment of sample Pu Erhs from The Essence of Tea owner, DC. The one stand out tea of that shipment was his 2009 Bulang, it was extremely bitter and challenging to drink. Unfortunately I was too late to grab myself a full bing as they had all been sold and my sample soon dwindled to nowt.
The beast returns though, in it's 2010 guise and this time I managed to snag myself a bing. Would it be as potent as last years? Well, with my parcel arriving in double time from DC, I launched myself upon it. Brewing 4.6 grams of leaf in a 100ml gaiwan I set about brewing this mighty tea once more. I consciously kept the steeping time shorter than 15 seconds and took my first sip.
Almost swearing, the soup was swallowed. This tea is an unadulterated assault of bitter lemon rind upon the palette! I cowered somewhat and reduced my second steep to just 10 seconds in an attempt to bring the beast upon some control. What followed was several rounds of myself locking horns with a formidable foe, again and again we clashed leaving me bewildering tea drunk and strongly moved by the chaqi. The huigan was most curious and quite unique, it felt like it wanted to express itself but was somehow shrouded.
Rather sheepishly I took the bing and set it into storage, I was soundly defeated. This tea fascinates me, it is several magnitudes more potent than anything else I have tried. I can only imagine how time will warp it's characteristics and ultimately tame the beast. I am really looking forward locking horns once again in a few months time.
Glad you enjoyed it! Careful though, I think it will take some years to tame the beast.
ReplyDeleteI love teas like this...I love raw pu-erh, and when a tea is this strong, it often means that you can age it a little while and develop some complexity but have it still retain its kick.
ReplyDeleteI'm not crazy about the aged pu-erhs that are so mellow that they have had all their edge taken off. It must be exciting when you find something like this...
=)
I am just so impatient to wait a few years! But yes, this tea excites me with its potential.
ReplyDeleteHi !
ReplyDeleteJust discovered your blog. I am very excited about going back in time and read your past articles.
I laughed when reading your description of this tea. I also tasted its power. Never seen anything like it. Being a fair beginner, I am very eager to see how time will affect such a "wild beast." Though I am very confident that it will be a wonderful experience.
Hello does all bulang taste like this? and does other lbz tea taste this intense too?
ReplyDeleteSince EOT has all its bulang sold out, where can I get similar quality bulang to try, pls dun tell me i got to wait till 2012. thanks
Kel
Not all Bulang does I'm afraid. I think you can buy some 2011 EOT bulang in sample size still, it's just the whole bing that has run out of stock. The taste of this Bulang doesn't taste like a LBZ at all, the bitter lemon rind flavour is really in your face... EOT Bulang, you've got balls..
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