Butter Pat Sheng Pu'er S.L.A.B. (牛油片生普洱, Niú Yóu Piàn Shēng Pǔ'ěr, "Butter Slice Sheng Pu'er") - This delightful little 8 gram slice of 2022 sheng is from an early spring harvest from 3 different mountains: Nannuo, Bada, and Leida, which are all adjacent to each other. By blending tea from different mountains, Li Shulin has achieved a tea fresh, zesty, fruity taste with very little bitterness or astringency. A great introduction to sheng pu er for those new to the genre, and sure to attract lots of attention if you bring it out at a party.
5 Reviews
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Butter Pat party of one!
This was our first time trying sheng pu'er. (I love the shape and gold foil!) We brewed half the pat after supper in my tiny clay tea pot. The liquor had a honey smell; the wet leaves smelled "metallic" to quote my son. (Keep in mind that this is a teenager who drinks Taiwanese high mountain Oolong all day. We'll call him Floral Boy.) I didn't taste the honey in the tea., and I didn't really like it all until the third steep. (I may have over-steeped the first two times.) Floral Boy: "It kind of has the taste of something that's supposed to smell like something but it doesn't taste like it smells when you taste it. (This led to the confession that he used to lick the fruit-scented markers they used in elementary school.*!*) The next morning, I brewed the other half of the pat for myself in a medium-sized gaiwan. I gave the leaves a little longer to wake up and I kept the lid off at each steep as I would for any green tea. This time, some honey came through, though without the sweetness. And I got a big, soft all-over mouth feel. It tasted a little like a mothball smells, without that being a bad thing. (My grandmother's kitchen always smelled of mothballs, so this is a pleasant association for me.) Bottom line so far: this is a complicated tea. Don't over-steep, and keep the lid off. I'm looking forward to the next pat!
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Yummy!
I really enjoyed this tea. It has a silky buttery mouthfeel (living up to its name) and a green, slightly savory flavor to my palate. I got a good 11 infusions or so. Could have kept steeping it but I had errands to run. Would definitely repurchase!
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Approachable
I am not a huge fan of Sheng typically, but this was a mild and slightly sweet Sheng. VERY nice.
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Balanced
This is a nicely balanced sheng, with just enough bitterness to keep things interesting and plenty of sweet undertones. I found it less sensitive to oversteeping at high temperatures than some other sheng puer I've had
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Sweet and gift wrapped
This tea definitely is fun to unpack, but contrary to it's name it's actually very refreshing with a floral taste. I think it's a good tea for hot weather since the taste itself is nice and light so you do get refreshed.