2008 EoT "Bulang Ancient Tree"

Dry leaves smell old and leather something, a bit smoke. Very promising. After the rinse I smell the wet leaves and I get a very teaish aroma with a touch of mint. This I like! First brew. Very savoury tasty tea with a big body, clean yet a bit powdery texture. Malt, cocoa, camphor. Bottom of cup smells amazing. Smelling the empty bottom of the cup is a big part of my enjoyment of tea, and in the best cases I can sit with my nose in the cup a good 10 minutes, remembering old memories which the tea reminds me of. A really cool thing about puerh is its ability to evoke something familiar. Often when I make tea for my friends and let them smell the leaves in the pot they exclaim: "I know this smell! But from where? I feel that I should know..." But they seldom do.

The tea is getting more powerful with each brew and I can feel that bulang bitterness I've been about and I'm really enjoying it. This was my first time trying a bulang and I will be coming back for more.