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White2Tea New aMerykah 2 2014
(Tea provided
for review)
So
I finally decided to write up my thoughts on White2Teas’s 2014 New Amerykah 2. Of
course I had this and a couple other samples since December that I’ve been
leisurely sampling a little bit at a time.
Dry
Leaves: I had a large sample about 14 grams; it’s a nice mix of browns and
greens with plenty of fuzzy silvery leaves. It’s not that tightly compressed, I
could easily break it apart without a pick. It doesn’t have much of a smell,
but I could get something medicinal when I was breaking off a chunk.
First
Steeping
Temperature:
185oF
Brewing
Time: Ten Seconds
Aroma:
Hay and Meat
Flavor:
Hay and Mineral
Tasting
Notes: I started out with a quick five second rinse, perhaps I should have had
a longer rinse or even a second. I’ve heard of teas tasting or smelling like
strange things, but I always imagined those people were exaggerated or did not
have clean palate. But I can assure you I could distinguish meat in this! Other
than that I was not getting the bitterness promised on the description.
I
wonder if I should have used more tea, I only used four grams in my 85ml
gaiwan, I thought about using more, but I had a feeling that this was going to
be a tea that expands a lot (and it did). I was not disappointed with this so
far, but I was hoping for more bitterness. Will this tea ever develop the kuwei
that I was promised?
Second
Steeping
Temperature:
185oF
Brewing
Time: Fifteen Seconds
Aroma:
Beef Jerky, Hay and Medicinal
Flavor:
Pleasant Bitterness, Hay and Mineral
Tasting
Notes: Oh god yes. It developed a nice bitterness very fast; perhaps I should
have rinsed it more? I am always a little apprehensive about rinsing puerh,
more often than not I try the rinse even though I know I should skip the boring
rising action and go straight to the climax, but I am always worried I am going
to miss something out. Regardless it suddenly became bitter and astringent
while staying incredibly smooth and creamy. I know many people avoid bitter or
astringent teas, but I’ve been craving a nice bitter tea for a while; normally
I can be assuage this craving with a Sencha, but I’ve only liked a handful of
the Snechas I tried in 2014 which has lead me to try more Shengs.
The
liquor is still a golden-peach color which is a little deceptive; this is a lot
stronger than it looks.
Third
Steeping
Temperature:
190oF
Brewing
Time: Twenty Seconds
Aroma:
Medicinal
Flavor:
Pleasant Bitterness, Hay, Vegetal and Fruity
Tasting
Notes: Bitterness is weakening, it still there for the next five or so
infusions. There is a new vegetal flavor that is quite nice, with the hay notes
it sort of reminds me of a yellow tea. Everything is a lot sharper than the
last infusion although nothing is biting except the Fruity/Apricot taste. I was
very impressed with this infusion (definitely my favorite of the three
infusions here), but the longer you go with this tea the better it gets.
In
later infusions I was getting sweet tobacco that transitioned into
honey-floral. It becomes very rich and syrupy as you go on. Definitely a tea to
enjoy slowly, I am not sure if I would want to do longer rinses or infusions
after trying this three times. It certainly benefits from being brewed with
higher temperatures (I think 190oF is a nice starting temperature). Although I
rather enjoyed experiencing the transition to from a shy thin tea to an
insanely thick boisterous tea; towards the end it was starting to feel like a
high mountain oolong, it had a nice syrupy mouthfeel that coated the back of my
throat. Regardless TwoDog is currently selling a 25g sample for $7 and a 357g
cake for $69.50 and I definitely think it is worth checking out. I tend to
prefer puerhs that are good now rather than waiting a couple years for it to
develop more character, but I feel this is a perfectly drinkable tea today,
although I am curious how it will taste in a couple years.
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