Shu Pu’er Coins

These shu Pu’er coins brew an amazing sip of tea and are great for travel and personal brewing sessions (they can easily be broken in half for a quick sip). Since it’s pressed into a coin, the dry leaf is very reserved as far as aroma goes, yielding only slight woody and mushroom elements. The wet leaf was more forthcoming with leather and fresh-cut hardwood (I want to say birch) in abundance. My first infusion was a deep orange with more leather and woody aromas and flavors in abundance. However,  once the leaf loosened up a rich orange-brown, more typical for shu pu’er of this age, was definitely the desired liquor color. As I continued to infuse the tea (infusions 3-6), the leather and woody notes were joined by a subtle spicy aroma (nutmeg? clove?) that became more apparent, but still subtle, as I progressed through the infusions. At the same time, the leather and wood notes became subdued and started coalescing into the spices wonderfully, creating their own unique tasting experience. A sensational mouthfeel was apparent from the first sip, a smooth and thick broth that was a perfect match with the bold rich flavors of these shu Pu’er coins and left the mouth clean. Don’t miss out on the gaiwan lid with this tea either! The mushroom hints in the dry leaf all float up to the lid and combine with a Chinese herb note offering a little aromatherapy during your shu Pu’er brewing session. Continue the aromatherapy with a quick smell of the bottom of your empty cup. I detected a notion of hardwood tree bark. I easily got 6 infusions from a single shu pu’er coin and towards the end, extra long steeps continued to yield great tea soup, so I suspect I could’ve pushed on even further.