Mengku Great Snow Mountain 2011 Spring

This pu'er cake was produced in the Spring of 2011 by the Rongshi tea factory in Mengku, from tea leaves grown in DaXueShan 大雪山, which translates as "Great Snow Mountain." Aged in Shanghai since release, the aroma is of smokey aged wood, musty old books, dried mushrooms & Chinese herbal medicines, finishing with forest floor, and sweet brown sugar. The tea brews a viscous, dark amber, which can be very thick and pulpy if oversteeped. The tea flavour is of aged camphor, mushroom soup, smoke, potsticker char with a syrupy nectar note that binds it throughout. There is very little bitterness or astringency, it's so easy & fun to drink. The aftertaste is slightly silty, there is some bitterness and smoke, but it turns sweet quickly. A sweet toffee note lingers in the empty cup, and in later steeps, sweet huigan appears at the back of your throat. It has some giddy chaqi to it too. Overall, very good price to performance and makes for an attractive gift with a large huangpian pressed into the top of each 500g cake.