A top of the line ripe pu-erh from Le Palais des Thés (Tel Aviv, IL), called Pu er d’Or. Also present on their French site with almost two times lower price 🙂 Comes from a garden in Meng Hai, Yunnan.

Brewing in my small gaiwan.

Rinse, and immediate dried forest mushrooms aroma appears.

First steep for 1 min. at 90°C, as proposed on pack, a bit sour not a very outstanding Pu-erh taste. But sweet plum and cherry confiture taste notes present. Will go to 100°C. Tea is beautiful, dark red color.

Fast 10 sec. 100°C second infusion, sweet mushrooms taste, as were proposed on rinse by aroma. Elegant. Continuing with 100° fast steeps.

Third: mushrooms mix with sour cherry confiture taste. More earthy undertones. Deeper spicy taste in the back of my throat.

Fourth: very strong mushrooms smell of the liquor. Leather taste. Steeped for 10 seconds, must increase times by now.

Next steeps are also good, it goes up to 6-8 steeps until infusions become lighter.

Great tea, however I like Palais’s Fo Xian 2008 ripe puer better; for its more complex, subtle and weird undertones.