White2Tea's 2007 Repave

(Tea Provided for Review)
2007 White2Tea Repave
Origin: Hekai


So I decided to continue riding the puerh train, even though I’ve been on the Taiwanese Oolong train for the last couple months, and decided to try White2Tea’s 2007 Repave.



Dry Leaves: I have a big ol’ chunk that is pretty tightly compressed. Other than that there is not much of an aroma.



First Steeping
Temperature: 175oF
Brewing Time: Thirty Seconds
Aroma: Tobacco, Earth and Wood
Flavor: Tobacco, Caramel and Citrus
Tasting Notes: Instantly I noticed how smooth and mellow this tea is. It has a nice syrupy mouthfeel to it, ridiculously thick for a first steeping. Besides that it is a very punchy young sheng, the only real issue I had with this tea so far is that it has a strange molasses/caramel taste that in the end I decided to list as caramel, but that is not exactly right.


It is very potent, I wasn’t overly fond of the tobacco notes, but I could certainly live with it. So far no bitterness which I found a little disappointing, but c’est la vie.   



Second Steeping
Temperature: 180oF
Brewing Time: Forty-Five Seconds
Aroma: Earth, Tobacco, Wood and Floral                 
Flavor: Tobacco, Burnt Caramel, and Citrus
Tasting Notes: It has become very smooth and became dark really fast! I had to double check White2Tea’s site because even when brewed at such a low temperature it is starting to feel like a shou. Suddenly the mellowness of the last infusion is gone and is replaced with a swift punch to the kidneys. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a lovely tea, but  the last infusion lead me to believe this was a soft delicate tea with a slight edge, while this infusion is much edgier. (I didn’t realize this initially, but I noticed when I brewed this tea on two other occasions that it has short bursts of flavor that are not as prominent in the previous or subsequent infusions)


Despite the sudden torrent of flavor, I still enjoyed this tea. It did become very strong fast, but not an unpleasant tea otherwise this has a sweet aftertaste.



Third Steeping
Temperature: 185oF
Brewing Time: One Minute
Aroma: Earth, Wood and Floral
Flavor: Tangy, Dark Rum, Citrus and Floral
Tasting Notes: It has become super smooth and less syrupy. Not as punchy as the last infusion, which is a plus! The tobacco notes have disappeared and the caramel has become reminiscent of dark rum. Of the three infusions this is my favorite; it is dark, but not intense, it has nice soft floral notes, a sweet aftertaste and has the mellowness of the first infusion. It is starting to develop fruity notes, I couldn’t taste them in this infusion, but in later infusions I was getting apricot, plums and dates


The tea gets much better after the third infusion, but I did notice that on my second, seventh and fifteenth infusions (on the three occasions that I brewed this tea) that it becomes very potent. I have no idea why though. I decided to continue my  habit of only documenting my first three steeping even though I feel the later ones are much better because I thought of stopping and if I did I would have missed out on all this tea had to give. If I abandon every tea that lashes out I’m sure to miss out on some gems. If I were to buy this again I might do longer rinses or skip the second infusion entirely. For $4.50 for 25 grams this is definitely worth checking out to see if you like it. .




Rah

Just a guy who likes tea.

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