On Being Mindful -- 2016 Sweet Clarity Raw Puerh

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Today was a lesson in being mindful on my journal of Cha Tao. I opted to make this particular sheng puerh so I could compare it to its 2017 counterpart that I enjoyed yesterday.

However, I was definitely multi-tasking while getting to know this tea -- listening to a podcast, looking at my phone, writing, etc. I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and I, certainly, wasn't being mindful of my main task at hand --- drinking this tea.

I was holding my tea when I accidentally turned my hand over reaching for my phone...resulting in tea all over my notes; and fountain pen ink isn't too forgiving. I mopped up the spill along with most of the ink. I had to read the faint words and re-create them with a gel pen instead.

OY!
Afterwards, I took the hint; put on some quiet calm music, and set my mind to actually getting to know this tea!

Lesson learned. The Way of Tea starts with being mindful and present in the here & now.

Denong's Notes from their Website

Sweet Clarity can be brewed dozens of times, making it the perfect tea to savor on a long, quiet afternoon. Take home this exquisite tea and marvel at its revitalizing character.
Tasting Notes: Floral, Clean, Sweet
Region: Menghai, Yunnan | Harvest: Spring Year: 2016
Format: Cake Weight: 100g | Format: Broken Cake Weight: 10g, 30g
Steeping Instructions: Young Raw Pu-erh Steeping
Brewing Suggestions:
1-2g. of tea for Denong Glass Tumbler Temp: 185-195°F | 85-90°C
3-4g.+ of tea for Gaiwan Temp: 195-205°F | 90-95°C

Summary 

Disclaimer: I got this tea as a sample from Denong during the San Francisco International Tea Festival when I purchased a few of their 2019 teas. It is a 10gram sample. I used 5.0 grams for this session.

This is an extremely easy sheng to drink. It's very smooth and clean in flavor, with a medium astringency.

The dry leaf smells sweet, herbal, and reminds me of dusty books. There's a hint of sweet dried fruit.

In drinking this, I detect notes of herbal and the sweetness of dried fruit, giving way to floral notes in later infusions. There's not a lot of complexity in flavors, which is okay, because the cha qi in this tea more than makes up for it.

The tea is very calming and meditative. This tea is good for quiet contemplation when you want to sit and think about things without being distracted by any complicated tea flavors. BUT, it's good to be mindful of this tea because the cha qi will smack you over the head!

Despite being very mild in flavor, it's actually very hard to stop drinking this tea. After I finish each cha hai, I want more, despite feeling the after affects of the tea for quite a while after finishing each cup.

I was tea drunk by the 8th infusion. I actually had to stop drinking this tea as I was definitely feeling it. I felt the cha qi in my eye sockets/cheek bones, buzzing behind my eyes, and a tingling from my neck to the crown of my head.

However, I couldn't really "throw" away the tea leaves since it seemed to still have a lot left to give. So I threw them into a clean glass bottle and cold brewed the rest of it.

I'll leave it overnight and see how well it cold brews. I hope (and suspect) that it'll be pretty tasty. I just wonder if the cha qi will still be present?

Did I like this one more than the 2017? I thought about it. There's definitely a bit more flavor in the 2017, but it's like comparing apples to oranges. I can't say which I prefer; they're too different in nature.

Detailed Steep Information

For those who want a bit more detailed steep information, here's my notes. Unless otherwise noted, temperatures are in Fahrenheit and times are in seconds.
  • Tea amount: 5grams
  • Water amount: ~130-150ml per steep
  • Temperature: as noted below

#1 Steep: 

  • Time: 10 seconds
  • Temp: 195F
  • Color: Pale Ivory (top left image)
  • Wet leaves smell of sweet fruit with low notes of dried apricots and a slightly musty musty smell
  • Tea: The broth is thick, almost like sugar syrup. The flavors are very subtle --> sugar, fruit, like flower nectar. I'm already feeling it behind my eyes, but I'm feeling pretty calm. This is a super easy tea to drink

#2 Steep

  • Time: 30 seconds
  • Temp: 195F
  • Color: Pale Ivory (bottom left image)
  • Wet leaf: (high notes) sweet grass/herbs; (low notes) dry herb, wet grass
  • Tea: The flavors are still very subtle, but there's an increased astringency. The tea hits you with an initial sweetness at the tip of your tongue that mellows out. My eyes are buzzing a tiny bit.
  • Notes: I'd like to see if I can bring out more flavor, so will try a lower temp for slightly longer.

#3 Steep

  • Time: 40 seconds
  • Temp: 191
  • Color: Pale yellow (top right image)
  • Wet leaf: (high notes) sweet grass/herbs; (low notes) slightly damp earth after a light rain
  • Tea: There's more flavor now; more herbal flavors. There's an increased astringency on the tongue, lips, and roof of my mouth. I can still feel the buzz behind my eyes, moving up from my neck to the top of my head.
  • Notes: The leaves are finally started to open up .There's still one small "clump" of broken cake. I will try upping both time & temp for the next infusion.

#4 Steep

  • Time: 60 seconds
  • Temp: 194F
  • Color: Same as #3 (middle right image)
  • Wet leaf: (high notes) sweet florals; (low notes) cooked greens
  • Tea: There's a stronger flavor of sweet herbs to floral notes in this cup. Not a single flavor is dominating. It starts off slightly sweet then somewhat blends together. Astringency hasn't changed. Also, absolutely no bitterness. Viscosity is mild. I'm feeling the cha qi in the sinuses and my nose (still present in my eyes and a bit in one ear)
  •  Notes: The clump of leaves is starting to break up.

#5 Steep

  • Time: 90 seconds
  • Temp: 172
  • Color: Pale Ivory (bottom right image)
  • Wet leaf: (high notes) Roses!;  (low notes) cooked herbs & greens
  • Tea: Stronger floral notes are now present with an herbal aftertaste. The astringency is "slightly" milder in this steep, probably because of the lower temp. The cha qi is in the crown of my head now.
  •  Notes: 
    • Well, I made a mistake in the water temp because I wasn't paying attention, but we will see what happens.
    •  GDI, I just spilled my tea all over my notes. Bugger.

#6 Steep

  • Time: ??? I forgot to set the timer. Oops...and I lost track of time.
  • Temp: 197
  • Tea: here's no discernible flavor here. I think I brewed it too short for the current infusion.

#7 Steep

  • Time: 120seconds
  • Temp: 200F
  • Color: From here on out, the color is slightly lighter than the previous versions.
  • Wet leaf: (high notes) Sweet floars/ sugar (low notes) cooked flowers
  • Tea: The broth is mildly sweet with floral & sweet herbal flavors, but there's not a single dominating flavor. The astringency is present, but not as strong. The Cha Qi is still very much present in the crown & back of my head.

#8 Steep

  • Time: 180 seconds
  • Temp: 201F
  • Color: Pale yellow
  • Wet leaf: (high notes) sweet roses; (low notes) n/a
  • Tea: There's a strong herbal flavor and a slightly harsher astringency in the back of the throat. There's no bitterness, and the tea is still very clean to drink. The clump of leaves has finally completely separated! The cha qi is still very present.
  • Notes: Seriously need to stop drinking this tea right now...but it's a bit hard! I keep wanting more and more!



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