today's tea is a 2010 Dragon Pillar / Pole Ripe Puer from Dayi (Menghai Tea Factory), TaeTea Group.
it comes in a very nice box and is related to the 18th Asian Games held in Guangzhou in 2010.
the text benath the logo says "Official Asian Games Tea Supplier", what would indicate that this tea was presented at the Guangzhou Asian Games.
many tea products are marketed for special events and conferences, political, sports, entertainment and most probably served or sold there.
the text on the rear of the box just tells us that it's a ripe puer from DaYi, the name of the product is 龙柱圆 (Dragon Pile Round (aka Pole)), and the Batch is 001.
The Product Name Dragon Pole comes from stacking 7 of these ripe tea cakes to a Tong, and stacking 7 of those Tongs gives a pillar of 49 Beengs, TaeTea calls this a Dragon Pole.
it probably refers to the use of these Dragon Pillars (not made from tea though ;) ) in some old buildings/temples built with several of those pillars that are displaying dragons on them.
you can also see the dragon on the front wrapper in a vertical pole design.
the leaf material itself is very nice and consists of a lot of buds. it's definately of a higher quality than usual ripe puer from TaeTea and has a very mild and soft smell.
also included in the box is a small info note that just has general hints on how to brew it easy and kinda western style.. a ratio of 1:50 (5g for 250ml), boiling water and 3-5 minutes steeping time is suggested.
i rather suggest using 8g for 160 ml (1:20 ratio), boiling water and steeping times of about 10 to 20 seconds (in later brews).
i rather suggest using 8g for 160 ml (1:20 ratio), boiling water and steeping times of about 10 to 20 seconds (in later brews).
the brew is very thick and dark, even with short steeping times, the following photo was done with a later brew that was thinner and shows the nice red color of the liquid.
the aroma is very earthy (in a nice way), has flavors of raisin/plum and a very fine and smooth lotus taste.
the body of the tea is velvety smooth with a thick brew that should be related to the use of old tea tree material (according to the official TaeTea Website Info on Dragon Pillar, Imperial Tea Series) and very subtle spicy ginger notes.
the clear difference to other ripe puers is that this tea is so lovely to drink as it's so smooth.. other teas go right in your face (or nose) with unexpected and partly intense flavors.
while that may be a cool thing and a less intense experience may sound kinda boring, in this tea it's so pleasing because the brew is so thick and doesn't have any odd notes.
the wanted flavors just come in a very smooth way, like a girl that is so awesome but so lovely at the same time ;)
daily facts:
this tea is clearly a premium factory product, it's still a factory product within it's limits and borders, but so good at that. it combines the good and distinct treats of a good older ripe puer with a soft experience of a thick brew, and even shows a fine lotus aroma (which officially isn't even promoted in this tea)
daily rating:
4.2 / 5
related links:
http://www.taetea.net/en/home
http://www.taetea.net/en/products/product/traditional/imperial/dragon_pillar_ripe_puer
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