Corax on Dayi Label 7542 Pu'er [Sheng, 2000], Menghai Tea Factory

DRY LEAF:
--- color: a motley of green, brown, and black
--- constituency: very hard chunk
--- aroma: almost nil

TEA-TO-WATER PROPORTIONS [grams to fl oz]:
--- 4 g to 6 oz

VESSEL: gaiwan

FIRST INF:
--- time: 90 sec
--- temp: 195-200F
--- color: pale amber
--- aroma: pungent fish
--- taste: this infusion was a surprise to me. i did not expect there to be such a total *lack* of fishiness to the flavor. but when a fishy-smelling sheng puer is *not* fishy-tasting, as this is not, it often seems to run to the smoky -- which this also does not do. how to describe the way it actually does taste, however, is more difficult. mildly astringent; no bitterness.

SECOND INF:
--- time: 60 sec
--- temp: 195-200F
--- color: medium gold
--- aroma: milder, woody scent
--- taste: the woody flavor steps to the fore in this infusion. the astringency is at a level comparable to INF1.

THIRD INF:
--- time: 60 sec
--- temp: 195-200F
--- color: medium gold
--- aroma: negligible
--- taste: woody, moving toward papery. my sense is that the tea has given what it has to give by now. the tiniest bitterness creeping into the aftertaste.

FOURTH INF: none

COMMENTS: the experience of brewing this tea reminds one of how important it is not to judge a tea until one actually knows both its taste and its aftertaste. a much more pleasant tea than the initial whiff of the aroma of INF1 might have portended.