Wild Leaf Menghai Sheng Pu-Erh 2003 - Red Blossom Tea Company

Notes of black pepper, dark wood, and unsweetened bbq sauce.

Scent Notes

The dry tea leaves have an interesting fishy like smell. Then there is the aged murkiness. I hope that the fishy notes don’t translate into taste, as I don’t think I would like a puerh with those tastes. The leaves are giving me scents of smoked salmon. Strong savory smoked salmon notes, with perhaps some smoked wood. The scent of the tea is smokey with notes of tanned leather and old wood.

Tasting Notes

The tea has a deep rusty brown with a reddish tinge. With these brew specs, the texture is light. Soft on the tongue, not creamy. The flavor is light, with prominent aged smoked notes. There is no fishy taste at all, thankfully. No astringency, and no bitterness. I don’t think the tea is that sweet either. Some spiced notes like a pepper, and a very light center of tongue finish.
I am going to try a stronger brew, same temp, +10s, and 60mL of water. The color is now a lovely deep walnut or chestnut brown. The liquid is clear and not murky, and the scent gives off pungent smokey notes on quick sniffs, and a velvety mushroom like scent on slow sniffs. I keep using smokey, because it is hard for me to make out other notes. The hot leaves have lost all of their fishy scent. Despite the dark wood notes, the scent seems more clear. Less musky, more like smelling a damp forest after it rains. The texture of this brew is much creamier. The creaminess comes across and lubricates the front of the tongue. The taste as a deep aged richness with no bitterness, no astringency, and little sweetness. Perhaps similar to a bbq sauce with no sweetness. The complexity of the flavor is pretty small, with the upfront flavors on the front of mouth, and a very small wood chip after taste in the back of mouth.
The tea with the new brew parameters still maintains a rich darkness. Perhaps not as dark as an espresso coffee, but certainly reminiscent. Still maintains a creamy texture in the front of the mouth, followed by a smoked wood note. The taste is mellow on the side of the tongue, and the only part that really tastes the strong flavor is the center of the tongue. Still maintains a wood chip like finish. I like this brew more than the first. The texture is creamier, the smokiness has mellowed out but less watery, and there is zero bitterness or astringency.
The leaves have lost that surgical sharpness smell, and is relaxing into an old aged leather scent. Nutty and earthy notes such as a damp soil. Still a very smooth texture that really coats the tongue. The flavor is even more relaxed, less smokiness, more smooth creaminess in texture. The finish is still mild with a familiar wood chip taste on the back top of the mouth. The finish seems to be slightly longer lasting. Still no strong bitter notes, and no astringency.
The color has started to lighten returning to a brown with red orange notes. Soft texture on the tongue still. The detectable flavor notes have shifted to the back of the mouth now, and reveals itself more in the finish. The strong smokey notes have really mellowed out in to something more relaxing. The flavor profile still does not seem very complex, but it seems like a very enjoyable sipping tea. While the flavor is not as strong, it is developing a bit more beyond smoked and aged wood. The finish is accumulating in the back of my mouth as I consume more. This is a raw puerh, so it doesn’t appear to have any damp cave notes. It is quite an old puerh, and the flavor is still going and could be argued to still be developing.
The scent is starting to develop a very small hint of sweetness as from a burnt sugar. Still a smooth texture, not as milky creamy, but still detectable. The flavor takes a while to develop as the tea moves to the back of your mouth. More detectable finish with a camp fire like comfort.
The tea is less dark in color, returning to a rustic brown red. Slightly more watered down texture, with more sweetness in the back of throat. An even stronger finish, with sweet burnt sugar notes, and just-finished-eating-bbq smokiness. I am detecting some stronger flavor notes. Even though the texture is less creamy, you can now taste the flavor on the edges of the tongue and in center, with a light watery aged wood note. Still a deep or darker wood, with that aged old man smoking smokiness.
Brew 2 min, 60 mL. The scent has a fleeting sweetness, like a beef jerky, or bbq sauce. Texture is not as smooth any more, more comparable to water, but still detectable. On the first sips, there is a bright sweetness right on the very back of the tongue, but disappears quickly and doesn’t show itself again. The wood notes coat the tongue with flavor a bit more evenly now, kinda like a wood chip stew. More detectable sweetness on the finish, which is reminiscent of a floral sweetness, rather than a candy sweetness.
Brew 2.5 min, 60 mL. The color has lightened with more golden tones, looking more like a copper now. A more watered down texture, with a round flavor profile, losing its more pungent smoky notes. Deep soupier notes on the flavor, some edge of mouth sour tinges and back of mouth too. Less sweetness on the finish, with a more acidic finish.
Brew 3 min, 60mL. A much lighter, copper penny appearance. Very little scent remaining, watery texture, less full body flavor, with a cheaper tasting liquid smoke on the tongue. A finish still exists, but it has a sour acidic tinge which I do not find pleasurable any more. I think the 8th brew was the last infusion that I would label as satisfying. This still has a small amount of flavor, but the texture, flavor profile, and finish no longer respect the good qualities it used to have.
One last final brew, 5 min, 60 mL. Same color as before, slightly more smooth on the texture, flavor is still hallow, and the finish is light and develops slowly. Still a bit to light and watery to be as enjoyable as before.

Rating: 4/5

This raw puerh has a long lasting smooth almost creamy texture that is apparent on each sip. The flavor changes over time, from strong smokey wood notes, to sweeter finishes on the back of the mouth. The finish starts off weak but builds after multiple infusions and sips. However, my main complaint is that the best flavors that this tea had to offer was not very complex or interesting. It was just different variations of smokey wood aged notes for me. If the sweetness had developed more, or had more mouth shape, I think I would have found this more interesting. I did appreciate how this tea had zero bitterness and astringency as a result of a well aged puerh. I think this was a nice tea to try, but I don’t see myself purchasing any more for normal consumption.

Tea Seller’s Description

漢字〇三年勐海野生普洱生茶

origin Menghai, Yunnan

craft aged sheng (non-fermented, aged)

flavor notes earthy, camphor, crisp

Our 2003 Wild Leaf comes from the ancient tea trees that have grown for hundreds of years on the mountainous slopes of southern China’s Yunnan province in Menghai County. Harvested and crafted by the aboriginal people of Yunnan, the tea is a “sheng” or raw pu-erh – aged naturally – with time as the only catalyst transforming the tea from its nascent state as “mao cha” to its current rich mahogany color. Stored in Guangzhou for three years, this tea has developed a deep, earthy body.

After continued aging in San Francisco, the result is a tea that is surprisingly sweet, with a rich camphor finish. Steeped longer, the tea becomes richer in flavor with a distinct stone fruit aroma and remarkably smooth texture.

Brewing Guide

Sheng Pu-erhs are noted for their clean, crisp, complexity. Thus, though they will never become bitter, they are best enjoyed when steeped for shorter times, bringing out the nuanced character developed with age. The Wild Leaf 2003's elegance is most pronounced with infusions of one minute or less, highlighting the clean woody finish. For a fuller, maltier mouthfeel, with hints of stone fruit in the finish, extend steep times towards two minutes, in a vessel with excellent heat retention - ideally a yixing clay pot.

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