2014 Dr Puer Jingmai Gu Hua Xiang Raaka Pu Erh Tee

Preparation: I broke the cake completely, put it in a cardboard box, in a cupboard with little airflow and let it rest for a couple of weeks, before starting to drink it.

Brewing: 5.33g/80ml, 100°C, flash rinse, 15s, +5s.

Warmed-up dry leaves smell of stone fruits. When wet, woody notes, spices and a hint of smoke come out.

The liquor has a very interesting depth to it - layers and layers of exotic wood, leather, delicate fruitiness and hints of spices. It all blends in nicely and the taste profile keeps developing over more than a dozen infusions.

Together with its "Nannuo" brother that has the same qualities, this relatively cheap tea is a great introduction to aged raw pu-erh.

P.S.: I got this cake as a replacement for one that was out of stock. That's how I got to compare two different "tea mountains" - Nannuo and Jingmai are actually very close to each other - from the same producer, from the same year. The teas are almost identical.