Today’s tea is Crimson Lotus Tea’s 2019 Nevermore Shou Puer. I purchased Nevermore as I enjoy Crimson Lotus Tea’s shou and this one is promised to be dark and bud heavy, similar to the 2008 Bulang I had way back in 2015.
Leaf and Steeping Method
2019 Nevermore has a dark, earthy chocolate scent.
I used a gongfu ratio of 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, steeped with boiling water. After a pair of rinses, the leaves smell like a forest of birch trees and moss.
Tasting of 2019 Nevermore Shou Puer from Crimson Lotus Tea
First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Infusion: 2019 Nevermore Shou is sweet to start, tasting of light caramel and marzipan with darkness looming over. A steep in, and Nevermore develops milk chocolate and mossy forest flavor, with a milky caramel aftertaste. Some sips weave in a stronger oak wood taste. As I drink the texture is on the milky sticky pudding side. The flavor is pretty consistent across here, tasting pretty similar infusion to infusion.
Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Infusion: Nevermore is starting to wane here. I think this tea would have benefitted from going a little higher in leaf, around 1g/12 or 13ml. More leaf would have gotten me a bit more infusions. The flavor is light buttery caramel and sandalwood incense with a long glassy sharp rock sugar aftertaste. The texture is still thick and a little oily. Never bitter or dry, even at the end.
Comments
If you missed the older Crimson Lotus Tea’s bulang shous, this one certainly reminds me of them. 2019 Nevermore Shou Puer is a chocolatey dark tea for those with a shou sweet tooth. This shou is approachable to many as the flavors are familiar and comforting, as well as easy to steep. I could see daily drinking this for afternoon tea.
