2008 Tian Fu Yang Ripe Brick 500g

I had purchased this ripe pu erh brick on one of my visits to Qiu Xiang teashop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last year.  This is a 2008 Tian Fu Yang brick.  I had sampled this pu erh at the tea shop and decided to buy this hefty 500g brick for slightly less than US$15.  

This ripe brick, as described on the wrapper, was made with tea leaves from the Bulang region in Yunnan.     I would brew 8-9g of this tea in my 190ml teapot and I prefer longer infusions for this pu erh tea.  It brewed up an aromatic scent with a mild sweet finish. The sweetness is nutty like eating freshly roasted chestnuts.  A brew of this tea can yield 8 good cups of tea. 

But I digress.  I had earlier mentioned in my earlier blogs that old ripe pu erh has a mellow taste and can   developed an aged taste as well.  One clear difference between drinking a ripe tea than compared to drinking a raw pu erh tea is the overall sensations when you finish your tea sessions of that respective tea.  There are raw pu erh tea that may give the drinker a sensation of intoxication, or a 'happy high' that last a couple of minutes.  Some raw pu erh  may make a drinker sweat before a nice cooling releasing sensation sets in.  Ripe tea would not produce such results but to me, drinking a good ripe pu would give me a satisfying pleasant, mellow and earthy cup of tea whenever I brew a session of ripe tea.  Yes, there are many more differences, not pointed out by me,  that you the reader would have experienced.  I would encourage all pu drinkers not to stick strictly to drinking raw or ripe tea but to enjoy both types of pu erh tea, so that you can experience the full spectrum of taste, aroma, flavor and sensations of a pu erh tea.