Continuing on my reviews of the entire teas that put the bitter in Bitterleaf Tea, our final tea is The Bitter End Xtra. This old tree spring sheng is in maocha loose leaf form. This was sold as a comparison of Bitterleaf Teas’ lower grade Lao Man E – The Bitter End Lite (Huang pian), and The Bitter End.
Leaf and Steeping Method
The Bitter End Xtra has beautiful leaves that are nice and fuzzy wisps. I took a sniff and it smells vegetal but a big huff and it’s verge eye-watering pungent.
As usual, I used around 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water.
The hot leaf smells like that sweet fluffy rice that comes out of a high-end rice cooker… until the pungency wafts in and attacks the nostrils. I sipped the rinse to wash out my greasy cheesy lunch. Oh gawd that is bitter!
Tasting of Bitterleaf Tea’s The Bitter End Xtra 2018 Spring Lao Man E Sheng Puer
First and Second Infusion: The Bitter End Xtra is bitter and STRONG. So bitter it breaks the tongue and brain simply has a meltdown on what I’m tasting other than bitter. GAME FACE OWL GAME FACE!
Getting past the bitter, which is a lot of bitter, this tea is brothy oily thick. The body feel has sinking energy to it, as I can actively feel myself beginning to slouch with each sip. I also am seeing stars, yet also trying to stay focused to write about this damn tea. Some sips I can taste notes of buttered popcorn. The aftertaste is trying to be cute but it’s just bitter.
Third and Fourth Infusion: Bitter. ROLL CREDITS cuz you did it Bitterleaf Teas, lived up to your name.
A floral flavour is trying to break through, gasping through my teeth, but it’s just so bitter. The aftertaste is more bitter. I would say it isn’t as bad as Kuding but it’s up there, bordering chewing uncoated painkillers. Also not sure how much energy I am tasting vs body aggressive response to the flavour and forcing myself to drink through.
Fifth and Sixth Infusion: The Bitter End Xtra is still bitter and ultra potent. Some sips I get a milky, popcorn, and stale floral taste.
Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Infusion: Believe it or not, I am still flash steeping this tea. Usually, I’m up to around 30 seconds or 1 minute here, but this maocha is still very potent tasting. Some sips have a mineral quality, and I got a lasting aftertaste of mostly bitter and some floral. The energy is kicking hard and I feel like I got vice grips pinching the sides of my head and they tighten each cup, plus sporting a spiral-eyed anime thing. I am also sweating.
Tenth and Eleventh Infusion: Finally the broth isn’t bitter, but the lingering aftertaste keeps holding the bitter slap. I got some buttery steamed rice notes and the aftertaste is bitter squeaky floral. Tea drunk wise, my ears are ringing and I feel like I got hit in the chest.
Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Infusion: I did a palette reset and came to a light green pepper, minerals, and steamed rice tea… that slowly builds up the bitter level, but maybe half to what it was before. It is dry here, making my tongue feel papery to slowly being gum dangling dry.
Gut Rot Level – Moderate. I felt totally okay drinking this tea. I also drank it very slowly due to the intensity of the taste.
Comments
You would only buy Bitterleaf Tea’s The Bitter End Xtra 2018 Spring Lao Man E Sheng Puer if you want to experience the next level bitter. It is also for the varsity level puer drinker that enjoys bitter profiles. If you are a new tea drinker, you were the person who chews on aspirin and nail bitter polish for treats. The tea finishes on you without knowing as the bitter aftertaste will just not leave.
I do like bitter but I also had such a visceral reaction to how intense the bitter is, but I enjoyed the body effect and texture and want to drink this again. You can go lower in water temperature, but I’m sure that won’t tame a single bit of bitter. You want to tame the bitter, wait a decade or buy a less bitter tea, Bitterleaf Teas has plenty sweeter sheng puer in their line up. I personally greatly prefer the regular The Bitter End as it dangerously dances with bitter and has a more appealing aftertaste to carry it through. Either way, try both, though likely you’ll want Xtra for ageing.
