Sweet Fragrance Pu’er is a 1992 loose ripe pu’er sold by Tea Setter.
Tea Setter has a small, yet interesting selection, of oolong and pu’er teas. It appears they are in the process of getting some green teas as well. What I found to be a sweet deal on their site is their Gaiwan Starter Set as you get a glass gaiwan + 6 tea samples, perfect to start the gongfu tea adventure!
Their entire pu’er line looks great – I decided to try this Sweet Fragrance Pu’er first, as I do have a sweet tooth.
Dry Leaf: The leaf here smells earthy and wet wood like with a gradient of browns leaf colour.
Steeping Instructions: Tea Setter suggests to steep Sweet Fragrance Pu’er with boiling water using short 5 to 10 second steeps, increasing steeping time each infusion. For my run with this tea I followed the suggested steeping instructions using a gaiwan.
Teal “Pu’er Pick” Owl was pumped to hear I was doing a pu’er session, however when he saw it was loose leaf that required no pu’er picking, he was pretty bummed out.
After a rinse, I did a quick steeping of Sweet Fragrance Pu’er.
The result was that beautiful pu’er rosey peach colour (that the camera doesn’t pick up) tinged with brown amber. I love this colour!
First Infusion: This steeping was quite light – maybe I needed a second rinse. First sip – Sweet! The flavor intensity is light – carried with a woody sap sweetness ending with a peak of earthy flavor. The earthly flavor is wet woody with a hint of charcoal. Throughout the sip there is a wonderful smoothness that adds a light creamy sensation to the lips. Very nice!
Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth Infusion: The colour of the Sweet Fragrance Pu’er darkened to a deeper shade of woody amber.
Let’s compare the colour – first picture is the first infusion, second is the second infusion. The colour is like I slide the saturation bar up on photoshop!
The flavor has quickly changed to be a light-moderate level and stronger earthyness. The sweetness, which is lightened to a gentle pine wood note, is still present at first sip. The earthyness is robust and smooth, spiking a stronger intensity end of sip, though interestingly still light. There is a lingering burnt earth flavor as well as a steamed leaf note as well. The scent of this tea is quite strong despite the flavor intensity!
What I find interesting about Sweet Fragrance Pu’er is despite being a ripe pu’er, it is much lighter. The colour and flavor doesn’t get thick or heavy like other ripe pu’erhs out there. There is no fermentation notes at all.
Sixth, Seventh Infusion: Sweet Fragrance Pu’er is very consistent in flavor as the notes don’t change much each infusion, besides getting lighter in flavor. I found at the 6th infusion that I needed to drastically increase the steeping time to 1 minute to get a stronger flavor.
Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth Infusion: Despite long 5 minute-20 minute infusions, Sweet Fragrance Pu’er has slowed in flavor output, becoming quite light. I find the flavor notes are quite similar to the 1st infusion – light and sweet being the main characteristic with light earth flavor. The flavor is sweet woodsy sap amber with an earthly glimpse at the end. The colour has also lightened with the silky texture remaining despite these long and multiple infusions.
Comments: Sweet Fragrance Pu’er is an easy to drink tea – a great first pu’er which would appeal to tea drinkers who enjoy lighter teas like roasted oolongs. Sweet Fragrance Pu’er also features no fermentation/fishy flavor, which is fantastic.
My favorite infusion has to be the first and last ones as I enjoyed the sweetness present. However, I wish there was more complexity and changes with each infusion. Anyways, if you are looking to get into pu’er tea but don’t want something heavy or an easy to drink every day pu’er, check out Sweet Fragrance Pu’er.
(tea provided for review)
