Convict transplant, gearhead, coffee-apostate.
Almost enough knowledge to be dangerous.
I was turned on to pu’er in 2016 by a friend, and I’ve been desperately scrambling down the rabbit-hole ever since. Shou was my first-love, and I spent a year ruining sheng before I calmed down and got half a clue.
Thanks to the freely-given knowledge of others that I’ve managed to keep my “tuition” low. I’d like to think that as an inexperienced drinker trying to find my way, I might be able help other neophytes by by sharing my journey from a novice’s perspective. With that in mind, here are a few caveats to bear in mind when reading:
- I’ll do my best to stick to things I know. That doesn’t mean I know what I don’t know, and hopefully someone will stop by to call me out on that.
- My idea of a cheap tea is ~10c/g, landed. My “good” stuff hovers around 30c/g,
and I haven’t felt a need to extend too far past that point yet.Nevermind. Thanks, James. - I tend to under-detect bitterness and value bittersweet flavours more than most. Five years of espresso followed by twelve months of overbrewed sheng will do that.
- I also haven’t had a “fishy” shou yet, despite some guaranteed-dodgy AliX purchases. Either I’m very lucky, or too stupid to recognise wodui when I taste it.
- My palate is absolutely nothing special. If you’re hoping for notes of Sanguinello blood orange from that one particular orchard in southern Spain, you’ll probably be disappointed. If you want to know what a tea is like, and if there are any particular flavours or characteristics I notices or found special, you’ll probably get something out of my tasting notes.
With all that out of the way, welcome to Dead Leaves Club!
– Alex
Dead Leaves Club 