/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Here it is, the mystery mid- to late- 2000s Ban Zhang ripe puerh. Last week my neighbor surprised me with this gift, hence the thread edition (I think?). As I mentioned it was stored in very dry conditions for the last weeks or months. My plans were to let this sit in storage for a while, but I couldn't resist and had to brew some up.

DAMN I'm glad I did because it's excellent. Feels like a light fermentation. Very little on those dark, rich dough or chocolate notes. Instead it taste much more mellow with a lot of aged flavor that's just great. I thought only well aged raw puerh could taste like that. Smelling the leaves was like being transported to grandma's old farmhouse. Antique furniture, leather, a dirty cellar. Real nostalgic energy. The aged flavor reminds me of the only traditional wet storage raw puerh I've ever had, from KTM's Project #1. This ripe doesn't have the same dank muddy garden vibes, but it's somewhat in that direction. Maybe more dry earthy notes rather than wet ones. I've only had one session with it so far so we're still getting acquainted, but I can not believe one of the best ripes I've had was a handoff from a neighbor who didn't like the style.
Here's a photo of the spent material. I should have taken a shot earlier.
>>20383890
Koi gaiwan vibes