I'll be surprised if I ever give more than 3 stars for aroma in a ripe puerh review. They all smell the same to me, excluding the odors of too fresh, poorly made, or improperly stored examples. The taste, though, is something else. Each one tastes noticably different in both subtle and obvious ways. What they all seem to have in common, aside from the smooth flavor, is a calming warmth that makes me want to brew some late at night, which seems to be the only time I drink shou.

Like every other shou I've tasted, I find it hard to put specific names to the flavors I taste in this, although when I brewed it lightly I did notice a cherry note. Brewed more strongly, like I normally brew shou, there's a thick, somewhat dry earthy or woody sort of taste as the tea enters my mouth. It sweetens before I can swallow, and starts to feel almost sticky and syrupy as it goes down my throat. This evolving texture is an interesting characteristic that I'd like to find more in tea. One thing I didn't like was that where some shou which gains an amazingly soft mouthfeel when brewed very strongly, this gets sharply astringent.

This is the oldest shou I've tasted so far. I don't know how much of what I taste is the age and how much comes from other factors like storage, processing, or the region the tea was grown in. Overall, I like it, but enough to buy a cake.

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